The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has
asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the immediate payment of the insurance premium for Corps members injured or died in the line of duty while participating in the conduct of elections in the country.
The directive followed a presentation to the committee by the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) that the insurance cover for Corps members who were Injured during the 2023 general elections has not been paid.
Represented by the Dirctor, Welfare of the Service, Omotade Folorunsho, the NYSC DG told the House Committee that two Corp members that were shut during the 2023 general elections in Ukwani and in Akwa Ibom state, are leaving with permanent disability.
He said while the NYSC has taken care of the Insurance of the Corpers, the N1 million cover in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Corps and INEC was yet to be paid, adding that the commission has also been responsible for the hospital care of the victims.
He lamented that poor arrangement have always characterized the conduct of elections, leaving Corps members vulnerable, adding that the Corps members are often left at their own mercies when there are eventualities during elections.
In tears, he painted a gory picture of the 2011 elections where 10 serving Corps members were killed, saying “I was much younger in the service then and the responsibility of arranging the burial of these Corps members fell on my shoulder”.
He also disclosed that Corp members are often poorly renumerated while participating in the elections, adding that “they earn ₦4000 for three to five days training and ₦13,500 for election day duty. In most cases, these corps members don’t even have a place to sleep. Some of them sleep on bare floor and the following day, they don’t even have water to bath.
He suggested that the deployment of Corps members be left to the office of the National Security Adviser since the NSA is part of the InterAgency Consultative Committee on Election Security for the safety of the Corp members.
Following the presentation, a member of the Committee, Alex Egbona moved a motion which was unanimously adopted by the committee asking the electoral body to prevail on the Insurance company which insured Corps Members and staff for the elections to, within four weeks pay the premium of the affected corpers.
On his part, Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matter, Adebayo Balogun said the Committee considers the NYSC not merely as – participants in elections, but as indispensable partners in safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
He said “For decades, Corps mémbers have formed the backbone of election day operations, manning polling units across the federation as ad hoc staff of the Independent Nation Electoral Commission (INEC). They carry the burden of ensuring that the voting process is transparent, orderly, and credible.
“However, we cannot ignore the realities they face. Elections in Nigeria are won or lost at the polling units, and because of this, our Corps Members often find themselves exposed to dangers they should never have to confront.
“Reports abound of intimidation, harassment, threats, and attempts at financial inducement. In some tragic instances, these young citizens have been attacked, injured, or even killed in the line of duty, not because they did anything wrong, but because desperate political interests saw them as obstacles to manipulation.
“This is unacceptable. No election is worth the life of even one young Nigerian. The security, welfare, and dignity of Corps Members must not be negotiable.
“We must collectively interrogate the conditions under which Corps Members participate in elections. We must re-examine their security, their compensation, their training, their insurance coverage, their logistical support, and their overall well-being. We must ensure that every Corps Member deployed for election duty returns safely to their families and continue their service to the nation without fear.
“Let me emphasize that the political class and the Nigerian public must pay attention to the welfare of these Corps Members. Too often, national discourse is fixated on questions such as who appoints the INEC Chairman or how leadership positions are allocated.
“While these debates are legitimate, they miss the central point; elections are not decided in Abuja. They are not decided in political party headquarters. They are decided at the polling units, and the young men and women who stand at those polling units deserve our utmost protection and respect. We can strengthen our democracy by strengthening the people who administer it at the grassroots.”
Balogun said the strength of our democracy rests on the shoulders of young Nigerians who stand at the polling units with courage and integrity. We owe them more than appreciation; we owe them protection, dignity, and a system that values their sacrifice.
