2019 Elections may suffer another major setback …….protest total neglect, ill treatment of members
……..task NYSC DG to discontinue with any agreement with Commission
The rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is now being threatened as the members of National Youth Service Corps currently being engaged for the conduct of the polls nationwide have written to the Chairman of the Commission,, Prof Mamood Yakubu, complaining of their ugly experiences and total neglect in terms of welfares by the commission.
In the open letter signed by one David Frank, on behalf of the entire Corps in the country and dated February 16, this year, the Corp members drawn the attention of the Chairman to the predicaments being faced nationwide with no hope of being addressed by the commission and threatened to pull out immediately if nothing was done to address the situation.
They also warned the Director General of the Scheme, Gen S Z Kazaure to immediately denounce whatever agreement he must have entered with the Commission to be making it to be treating the Corp members as slaves.
According to the letter, “We thank you and your entire staff for your resilience and commitment towards giving Nigerians a credible election
” We also wish to draw your attention to the plight and neglect which we the members of the National Youth Service Corps of Nigeria were subjected to all over the country and we warn that we shall give you the full length of our tongues if this abuse of privilege is not put under check by your commission
” On the same vein, we call on the Director-General NYSC Brig Gen. SZ Kazaure as a matter of urgency to denounce whatever form of agreement he entered with INEC that prompted INEC to think we could be used as sacrificial lambs all in the name of working as electoral umpires
“Sir, you and your commission lured us to traps yesterday. You mandated all corp members to locate their pulling units and sleep over to the following day for election without any plan as to the welfare of the Corp members.
“We slept under the moonlight with natural AC from heaven freezing our body. We fought with mosquitoes, ants and all the beasts that flies at night. It was a terrible and horrible experience
” Our colleagues in the northern part of the country suffered regrettably under the cold north-east wind which blows across the Sahara desert and fetches the poor Corp members on the green hillsides
“There were cases of traits to life when attempts were made by marauders to snatch away materials under our custody without security. It was inhumane of you Mr Chairman
” With the hell we went through, we were not remunerated. We left stranded and frustrated
“Some of us that the commission relocated from East to West and from South to North, we went back to our various PPAs on our own. This is man’s inhumanity to man Mr Chairman
” We write to inform you that we have lost hope and confidence on this commission and at such, not interested on your ad-hoc duties
“Allow us to concentrate on our compulsory services to the nation… Another form of scam but we are contented compared to the death warrant you almost lured us into signing
” We call on the International Labour Organization to warn your commission never to invite us again on any of your assignments. Do it yourself and let’s see if you will subject yourself to such injustice”.
