Voter Registration: NYSC Members Threaten Boycott

The ongoing voter registration may suffer set back in some parts of Lagos State as  NYSC members threaten to boycott the exercise on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt on Sunday in Lagos that the planned action  was to press home their demand for the payment of their allowances.

Some of the corps members told NAN that INEC had not paid them the N700 daily  allowance since the exercise began eight days ago.

One of them, Emmanuel Samuel said at Tomia Primary School, Agbado, Oke-Odo Local  Government Council Development Area that many of his colleagues had no money to  continue with the exercise.

“We have only been paid N10,000 which was for the training we had.

“They are supposed to pay us N5, 600 for feeding and transportation for two weeks  but they have not paid us anything till now.

“So, there is a possibility that we will go on strike on Monday because we cannot  continue to work under this condition,” Samuel said.

Janet Eze, a female corps member, told NAN that they had been surviving on the  benevolence of some individuals in the area they work since the exercise commenced.

She said: “People come here to encourage us. Some buy soft drinks and snacks for us  because INEC has refused to fulfill its promise to us.”

NAN reports that the corps members handling the registration at Aboru area in  Iyana-Ipaja nearly boycotted the exercise on Sunday on the same claim.

It took the intervention of some community leaders who went to the registration  officers’ converging centre at Tomia Primary School, Agbado-Oke-Odo to pick them up  for registration to commence at about 10a.m.

Mr. Victor Fagbemi, a community leader at Aboru, expressed disappointment with the  shoddy manner with which the exercise was being carried out. According to him, only  about 20 percent of the eligible voters in the area will be registered at the end of  the exercise if the situation continues.

“We have appealed to INEC to provide more Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines for us  because this area is highly populated but unfortunately they have yet to do so.

“At the end of the day, I will not be surprised if they are only able to register 20  percent of the people because of the delays.”

Corps members in Lagos Island Local Government Area, on Saturday also protested the  non-payment of the allowances to the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu.

The Oba assured them that their demands would be met by the concerned authorities.

When contacted, an INEC staff in the Lagos office told NAN anonymously that “he was  sure the corps members will not boycott the exercise because they are on national  assignment.”

He said that they had been paid N10,000 out of a total of N30,000 earmarked for each  of them for the exercise.

He added that they were informed of the terms and conditions before the registration  commenced.

Meanwhile, Brig.-Gen. Ismaila Tsiga, the Director–General, National Youth Service  Corps (NYSC), has warned corps members participating in the ongoing voter  registration against organising protests over allowances.

Tsiga gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on  Sunday in Lagos after he visited the corps members.

He said the management of the NYSC was aware that some corps members were planning  to protest over some challenges they faced in the conduct of the voter registration.

“It is true that some corps members are threatening to protest but I have been  reminding them that this is a national assignment.

“I have been persuading them not to do so. Some of them in Lagos told me that they  will carry placards and I have appealed to them not to do so. “It is a rare  opportunity for them to contribute to the making of the Nigeria of our dream. NYSC  is a disciplined organisation and protest is not in our character.

Tsiga acknowledged that the corps members were facing some unanticipated challenges  like delay or non-payment of their allowances, faulty machines, transportation and  accommodation problems and impatience among those being registered.

The director-general added that he had been discussing with the Chairman of the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on the need  to ensure good welfare and security for corps members.

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