The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Director-General, Brigadier General Y.D. Ahmed, has admonished corps members to think of the future implications of their actions whenever they are called upon for national assignment.
The Director-General, who was ably represented by Director of Corps Welfare and Health Services, Mr Omotade Ayodele Folorunso Benjamin, made this known at St. Thomas Acquinas College, Akure, the State capital, while addressing corps members that would serve as ad-hoc staff for the governorship election in Ondo State.
Omotade, hinted that the conduct of corps members would, to a large extent, determine the success of the gubernatorial election holding on Saturday, 16th November, 2024.
The administrator charged corps members to be conversant with the electoral law so that ignorance would not be an excuse for not performing in line with the provisions of the working document.
“My dear children in the national service, the scheme will protect you if you do what is right and legal to protect and project the image of the NYSC positively. However, you will be left alone to face the full wrath of the law if per adventure, your conduct is not in tandem with best practices as outlined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the tenets of the noble NYSC scheme.
He continued, “Your predecessors over the years comported themselves and delivered on the mandate given them, and I want to encourage you to leverage those achievements to serve as adhoc staff with a sense of utmost responsibility, dedication and patriotism.”
He warned them to beware of who they associate with at this period, saying that their assignment was basically to assist the INEC to conduct credible, free, fair, acceptable and corruption-free exercise.
He urged them to remain neutral and carry out the duties with high level of professionalism and dexterity befitting of members of the service corps.
“Gentlemen corps members, you are expected to be neutral and be apolitical in the discharge of your duties as adhoc personnel. Let your conduct throughout the period of the election bring commendation and recommendations and not condemnation. Those who diligently served in the previous elections were not only commended but were handsomely rewarded by international communities and organisations.”
Omotade disclosed the contents of the security tips that were made available to all corps serving nationwide, advising them to imbibe the practical steps and guide contained in the pamphlet.
“Your first assignment when you get to your Registration Area Centres (RACs) and Polling Units (PUs) is to study the environment very well so that you will be on top of any situation in case the need arises. Also, l wish to advise you to travel light with snacks and sachet water that will keep you going throughout the election period.”
“You are not expected to give yourself to unsolicited and free foods by politicians or unsolicited care from any quarters so that no one will levy against you unwarranted accusation of tilting in one direction if the die is cast. NYSC, over the years, has been known as an unbiased umpire. Therefore, don’t allow yourselves, because of the ephemeral things that will finish, to soil or tarnish the good name the scheme has built over the years.”
The director enjoined members of the service not to take INEC sensitive and non -sensitive materials home after the election, saying such act constituted breach of contract and it attracts severe penalty.
“We are trying our best to give you adequate information that will assist you to deliver on the mandate thrusted upon your shoulders by both the NYSC and the INEC but let me warn you seriously that no INEC material should be found in your private possession after the election. Ensure that you return all materials intact to INEC officials,” he said.
The representative of the Director General said that NYSC management as well as officers were on the ground in all the eighteen local governments to monitor the electoral activities as well as ensure that security of corps members, as promised by INEC and all the security agencies, were not in any way jeopardised.
The Director, NYSC Southwest Area Office 1, Mrs. Olubukola Oluwaremilekun Abiodun, who welcomed the representative of the Director-General to her area of jurisdiction encouraged the corps members to listen with rapt attention to one of the finest and highly cerebral administrators NYSC has produced in the 21st century.
The host State Coordinator, Mrs. Kuburat Omowumi, thanked the Director for his fatherly roles to the corps members and being a reputable mentor for a large number of members of staff.
The representative of the Director General ended his duty tour with a courtesy call on the Principal of the School, Mr. Jimbola Adebisi, where he recalled with nostalgic feelings how he had represented his own school in Ekiti at the college in Quiz and Debating competitions over four decades ago.
He thanked the principal and his management team for making available the facility for the use of the NYSC, saying they were indeed partners in progress.
The principal, Mr. Jimbola Adebisi, described Omotade as a well brought up administrator who decided to appreciate the little contributions of the school to NYSC, saying that his humility was a blessing to the noble scheme.
