INEC Urges Parties, Candidates To Protect NYSC Corps Members Ahead Of 2027 Elections

INEC urges political parties and candidates to prioritise corps members’ safety ahead of 2027 elections, as Kogi NYSC reports security fears among recruits.

Political Parties and Candidates have been urged to prioritise the safety of all the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members participating in the electoral processes in the 2027 general elections.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Kogi, Dr Shehu Wahab, made this call while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting at his office in Lokoja on Wednesday .

Wahab explained that the call became imperative to protect the lives and property of the NYSC corps members as against unwarranted attacks on the innocent ones.

He appealed to politicians, particularly candidates and political parties, to treat corps members as their own children and ensure their safety at all times.

He noted that the corps members participating in the national assignment have their parents elsewhere expecting them back home, stressing that the safety of the corps members was sacrosanct.

On the People Living with Disability (PLWD), the REC assured them of equal opportunities to participate in the general elections, stressing that everyone will be given an enabling environment before, during and after elections.

Earlier, the State Coordinator, NYSC, Chris-Monike Chika, appealed to all political parties to ensure the safety of the corps members before, during and after elections in the State, urging them to treat them like their own children.

Chris-Monike pointed out that over 1,600 corps members were posted to Kogi State, noting that only few came for orientation, while others have stayed away because of fear of insecurity.

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, and the Chairman of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election (ICCES), Naziru Kankafori, has reiterated the commitments of all the security agencies to ensure free conduct of general elections in Kogi State.

Kankarofi stressed that the police command and all other security agencies will not tolerate any act of violence before, during and after elections in the state.

The police boss told politicians that the command’s door is open to all politicians to obtain permits, noting that this was important to ensure security during the electioneering campaigns across the state