The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Character Commission (FCC) and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) to review and subsequently consider employing corps members who were victims of election violence into public service of the federation.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary on Thursday by Hon. Emmanuel Ukpong–Udo.
Moving the motion, Ukpong–Udo recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on February 25th, 2023, followed by Governorship and House of Assembly Elections on March 11th, 2023, and April 15th, 2023, for supplementary elections.
The lawmaker said the electoral body co-opted over 200,000 youth corps members as ad-hoc staff to assist in the administration of the elections, thus constituting approximately 80 per cent of the INEC ad-hoc staff.
He expressed worry that some of the corps members were reported to have been victims of election violence, sustaining injuries from gunshots and matchets.
The lawmaker stressed that despite facing threats, the corps members remained committed to ensuring that the 2023 elections were conducted in accordance with their assigned roles.
He said considering their sacrifice for this important national assignment, there was a need to employ the corps members who were victims of the election violence to compensate for their losses and encourage future participation;
In its resolution therefore, the House urged: “The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to produce a comprehensive list of corps members that participated in the last 2023 elections and are victims of election violence;
“Urge the Federal Character Commission and the Federal Civil Service Commission to review and subsequently consider employing victims of election violence into public service of the Federation.”