Despite the increasing insecurity in the South-eastern part of the country, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) have insisted on the use of corps members for the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.
There have been killings of citizens and burning of property in the South-East. Offices of INEC and police stations have been attacked and burnt.
The proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) has vowed that there would be no election of any form in the state.
Yet, INEC has insisted that elections will hold and the NYSC has mandated corps members in the state to register as ad hoc members of staff to be deployed during the election.
In a circular which was seen by New Times, NYSC demanded that corps members must present their INEC online registration slip as a requirement for their monthly clearance.
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The statement reads in part: “Attention pls!
“Good afternoon my dear corps members. I have just been directed to notify you all that INEC online registration is now compulsory for all corps members! No evidence of INEC registration, no clearance!
“All those that have registered and submitted their acknowledgement slips are expected to come with copies of the said slip as evidence.
“Note that the portal will close tomorrow. Rush now to register before the site closes!”
Some of the corps members we spoke to felt it was against their human rights as the deployment was a threat to their lives especially against the backdrop of the recent killings in the state including that of Chike Akunyili, the widower of the late Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili by some unknown gunmen.
One of the corps members questioned why he should involve himself when civil servants in the state were refusing to do the same.
” This is the third time they are opening the portal for us to register, no one is registering, that’s why they made it compulsory”, he said.
Another corps member who is expected to complete the one-year mandatory service by the end of the month said that she had to do the registration when her local government inspector insisted that she was not going to be cleared on Monday when she went for her monthly clearance.
Last month, NYSC reportedly gave serving corps members a security tips booklet where it was said that corps members who intended to ply some of the major roads in the country should get their parents ready to pay ransom should they be kidnapped.
Text messages sent to Rotimi Oyekanmi, the spokesman of INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and authorities of NYSC in Anambra were not replied to as at the time of filing this report.

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