Lawyer moves to stop INEC over use of corps members
Corps members on are used as INEC AD-HOC
A human rights lawyer, Dr Kayode Ajulo, has threatened to sue the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the use of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in the conduct of elections.
Ajulo, argued that the use of corps members by INEC was against the law as it goes against the law setting up the scheme. He frowned against it and said must be stopped forthwith.
The human rights lawyer said this against the backdrop of reported killings of corps members in some parts of the country during the February 23, presidential and national assembly elections. He decried the number of corps members who died during the exercise, adding that if those corps members were from those localities, they would not have been killed.
“If there are any areas you want me to advise INEC, it is to stop using the NYSC members, particularly the youth corps member that do not even know the terrain. You can see the number of youth corps member that died and I believe if those corps members were from those localities they would not been slaughtered.”
Ajulo said that INEC should find a way of getting ad hoc staff without engaging corps members, stressing that there was a lot of youths roaming the areas that could be trained and engaged. “If actually INEC needs youths to help as ad hoc staff, nothing stops INEC from recruiting at the outset people within the locality.’’
According to him, the NYSC law did not support that corps members be used to conduct elections as the law banned them from taking any jobs that has remuneration. “Once you are in national service, you are not supposed to take any remuneration apart from allowance, so by doing that, INEC is violating the law.’’
Ajulo called on INEC to review that part.
