Fleeing corps members: INEC calls up reservists

 Independent National Electoral Commission has called up its reservists to take up electoral duties. 

Several corps members engaged as INEC ad-hoc staff in northern Nigeria were forced to abandon their duty posts after their colleagues were hacked to death by rampaging youths in a post-election violence after the April 16 presidential election. 

Our correspondent gathered in Abuja, on Sunday that the commission in response to reports from its field officers in the worst affected states, decided to engage the services of non-NYSC ad-hoc staff that were earlier trained but placed on reserve. 

This was confirmed by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, in a telephone interview on Sunday. 

He said “Certainly there are reservists like the chairman said. The outlook in the affected states is not as bad as people are being made to see it, the Commission has been engaging the NYSC Director-General and his team and the DG has been going round and talking to the corpers in these areas and the response has been encouraging. 

“Remember, we also have INEC staff and ad-hoc staff in these areas. We look forward to better outings in the remaining elections.” 

However, the number of such staff and ad-hoc staff was not readily available as at the time of filing this report. 

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega had, at a media briefing on Thursday last week, said the commission would understand should corps members decided not to continue.

He said, “We understand if some of them are scared enough not to want to continue, we will understand it. Anybody in their circumstances would not worry about that. 

“Look at what happened in some of the states; even their lodges have been burnt and their property destroyed. Many of them are now in army barracks. 

“Obviously people in that situation may have fears and worries, making them not to participate.” 

Jega noted that it was this fear that made it imperative for INEC to postpone elections in Bauchi and Kaduna states to allow for tempers to subside. 

“So that we can make contingency arrangements to be able to have enough personnel so that if we can’t get enough corpers to do the job, we will have other credible enough personnel to do that job. 

“Fortunately, we have trained more people than we have engaged; students of tertiary institutions and so on,” he added.

Source : www.punchng.com