Like several hundred others, Taiye was excited to get a job helping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conduct the elections in Lagos state. Much of this excitement stems from a promised pay of N35,000, an accommodation and feeding provision. If you’re earning a paltry N19,000, this looks like a significant step up.
Along with hundreds of other corps members posted to Lagos state, Taiye, who begged not to use her real name because of confidential agreement signed with INEC, said the experience of Friday February 15, ranks as one of her most harrowing experiences of her 25 years on earth.
In the many tales of disappointment that will follow Nigeria’s postponed presidential elections, it is possible the plight of over 400,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps, who constituted 40 per cent of the adhoc staff may be lost in the shuffle, but their disappointment and sense of loss over the postponed election is as valid.
“I assure you it’s going to be difficult for many of us to agree to return,” Taiye said.
Read Also: https://businessday.ng/exclusives/article/logistics-firms-squeezed-by-multiple-taxes-in-lagos/
By 9:00pm many corps members were milling about the local offices of INEC in Lagos without any sort of coordination. At INEC office on 19 Bawahala Street, Pedro Gbagada, monitored by our correspondent, it was a bedlam.
Security officials fought a losing battle to keep corps members, touts and party officials who seek to gain access to the venue. Traffic on the road was on standstill and commuters had to trek to their homes.
“They did not tell us anything, there was no one to speak to us, they just left us,” said Taiye, who was sent to Ajeromi Ifelodun local government and by 10pm had heard nary a word from any official. “That’s when I first suspected that something will go wrong.”
Corp members continued in the state of flux until midnight when rumours started trickling in that the elections would not hold.
Our correspondent who kept vigil at the commission’s office in Jalingo said corps members and other election observers were seen discoursing in groups about the postponement of the elections.
Their fears where confirmed around 2am when the Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman announced in a terse statement that the elections would not hold.
“Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan, and the determination to conduct free, fair, and credible elections, the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible,” said Yakubu postponing the elections by seven days.
A corper said that immediately it was clear there was going to be a postponement, policemen who kept guard over them around Lagos announced that there had been a postponement, “go to your homes,” and they drove off leaving everyone to their fates.
“I could not go to my house that night, I had to sleep on the bare floor, the first time I slept on the floor in my life,” said a corp member from Abuja.
While many corp members report sleeping on bare floors, others slept in open spaces around polling units, others inside abandoned busses and others who were fortunate inside abandoned office spaces because it was unsafe to travel that evening. Many businesses and transport workers fearing chaos shut down their businesses early on Friday evening.
“They told us that they would provide us accommodation but they abandoned us, we slept outside, our phones were stolen and many of us were harassed by touts,” Taiye said.
In Lagos, corp members around Ikeja report being dispossessed of their valuables. In Anambra there was outbreak of commotion in one polling unit according to the account of corper based in the state and everyone simply ran away.
“Please help us, corpers are being harassed by touts and policemen in Inec office Rumuokoro eligbolu port Harcourt.Rivers state please retweet,” tweeted Olatunji a corper posted to Rivers state.
In October 2018, lawmakers approved N234.5billion for the INEC to conduct the 2019 general elections. Initially the sum of N189billion had been approved by the Senate Committee on INEC based on the organisation’s request. An extra N45.5billion was added to avoid the very situation that INEC is giving as excuse for the postponement of elections.
“INEC’s budget has a high level of urgency. Let’s approve it and wait for security agencies to come and we will hear from them and then approve theirs,” said Barau Jibril (APC, Kano) contributing to debate on the urgency of approving INEC’s budget.
This budget was not even enough to ensure a coordinated effort to convey the corpers back to their locations. At Ajeromi Ifelodu, local government INEC officials had to quickly disburse N4500 to corpers to avoid a protest. In Osun, corpers who mostly travelled from out of the state, received over N5000 but many others in different parts of Nigeria were not that fortunate.
One corper in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital, who did not give his name, said immediately the election postponement was announced, “we were asked to go home, that we shall be communicated on the next line of action. Trekking home this midnight is the major challenge we will face, honestly we are stranded,” she said.
INEC created 119,809 polling units in Nigeria and said it could create an additional 30,000 voting points if it became necessary. Each polling unit and voting point will have not less than four ad hoc staff. It has a total of 8,809 registration areas and each of them has collation officers.
Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee told journalists that this is important because all the local governments and area councils must have collation officers. INEC will conduct elections in 1,558 constituencies and it requires between 750,000 and one million ad hoc workers and the Commission would require around 40 per cent of its ad hoc staff need from the corps members.
Each polling unit would be manned by a presiding officer and three assistant presiding officers. In many polling units, corpers perform the functions.
Many Nigerians on social media condemned the action of INEC.
You needed to see the hardship and risk to mosquitoes, snakes and other reptiles they put Corpers to last night, tweeted Akinola Akinyo-Ojo, a physiotherapist.
Others called on them to see it as sacrifice to the nation.
