The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately ensure the payment of insurance premiums due to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were injured or died while participating in elections.
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The committee issued the directive on Friday following a presentation by the Director General of the NYSC, who revealed that insurance claims for corps members injured during the 2023 general elections remain unpaid.
The DG was represented by the Director of Welfare, Omotade Ayodele Folorunsho.
Folorunsho disclosed that two corps members were shot during the 2023 elections in Ukwani Local Government Area of Delta State, while one was similarly attacked in Akwa Ibom State, leaving them with permanent disabilities.
He noted that although, the NYSC had shouldered the insurance and hospital bills of the victims, the N1 million insurance cover stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Corps and INEC had yet to be paid.
He lamented the recurring poor treatment of corps members deployed for election duty, saying they are often left vulnerable and unsupported. He recounted how 10 corps members were killed during the 2011 general election.
Folorunsho also descried the poor remuneration and welfare conditions faced by corps members during elections.
“They are paid N4,000 for three to five days of training and N13, 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 floors, and the following day, they don’t even have water to bathe,” he said.
He proposed that the deployment of corps members during elections be handled by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), given its role in the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, to enhance their safety.
Following the presentation, a committee member, Hon. Alex Egbona, moved a motion unanimously adopted, directing INEC to prevail on the insurance company responsible for the corps members’ and staff’s electoral insurance to pay the outstanding premiums within four weeks.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Adebayo Balogun, described corps members as indispensable partners in safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.
“For decades, corps members have formed the backbone of election day operations across the federation. They carry the burden of ensuring that voting is transparent, orderly, and credible,” he said.
Balogun decried the dangers faced by corps members at polling units, where intimidation, harassment, financial inducement, and sometimes fatal attacks have become commonplace.
“No election is worth the life of even one young Nigerian. The security, welfare, and dignity of corps members must not be negotiable,” he said.
He said the nation must revisit and improve the conditions under which corps members participate in elections, including their security, compensation, training, insurance, logistics, and general welfare.
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