FG Must Employ NYSC Members Affected by Electoral Violence -Reps

The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Civil Service Commission to work in collaboration with the Federal Character Commission to employ public service corps members who are victims of election violence while working as electoral officials.

The House asked the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to produce a comprehensive list of corps members who participated in the 2023 elections and were victims of electoral violence for such employment.

This followed a motion on notice by Emmanuel Ukpong–Udo on the need to employ the corps members who were victims of electoral violence into the civil service or INEC.

Ukpong-Udo recalled that the INEC held the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on February 2, 2023, followed by Governorship and House of Assembly Elections on March 11, 2023, and April 15, 2023, for supplementary elections.

According to him, as part of ensuring the success of the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission co-opted over 200,000 youth corps members as ad-hoc staff to assist in the administration of the elections, thus, constituting approximately 80% of the INEC ad-hoc staff.

The Lawmaker disclosed that some of the corps members were reported to have been victims of electoral violence, sustaining injuries from gunshots and matchets.

He said despite facing threats, the corps members remained committed to ensuring that the 2023 elections were conducted in accordance with their assigned roles.

The lawmaker said that as a way of compensating them for their sacrifice for this important national assignment, there was a need to employ the corps members who were victims of the electoral violence to compensate for their losses and encourage future participation.