THE Ebonyi Government and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Monday urged corps members on election duties to replicate their good conduct during the Presidential polls in the March 9 Gubernatorial election.

Mr Charles Akpuenika, Chairman of the NYSC Governing Board in the state, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that such conduct was exemplary.

Akpuenika, who is also the Commissioner for Youth Development and Sports, said that no youth corps member in the state lost his or her life or reportedly engaged in electoral malpractices during the Presidential polls.

“The state government through appropriate channels has advised the corps members to be security conscious, shun acts which may truncate the electoral process and in turn, endanger their lives.

“The state governor, David Umahi, has also declared that no one should manipulate the elections in his favour but people should freely exercise their franchise.

“The governor advised the corps member to be neutral while discharging their functions and adher to such advice to ensure that they did not expose themselves to dangers” he said.

He expressed optimism that the corps members would be of good conduct during the gubernatorial polls.

“The people would be more interested in the gubernatorial polls as they have pledged to come out enmasse to elect a leader who will lead them for the next four years,” he said.

Akpuenika confirmed the insinuations that prospective corps members jostle to perform their service year in the state, noting that such news was heartwarming.

“The state government injected over N400 million into the renovation of the NYSC permanent orientation camp in Afikpo with the installation of new facilities and the project is 80 per cent completed.

“This has made the camp, arguably the best in the country as the governor also increased the corps members monthly stipend from N5, 000 to N10, 000.

“The director-general of the NYSC recently wrote a commendation letter to the governor over his magnanimity to the scheme in the state.

“The governor also re-constructed the Abakaliki–Afikpo federal highway which leads to the orientation camp as its journey which hitherto took over two hours now takes 45 minutes,” he said.

Mrs Ann Ibe, the NYSC State Director, said that corps members who were involved in electoral duties were safe and not connected with cases of malpractices.

“We carried out intensive enlightenment campaign on the corps members across the 13 Local Government Areas (LGA) of the state on the need for them to be of good conduct.

“We enlightened them that their primary objective is to ensure the success of the electoral process and this will be achieved through neutrality in their activities,” she said.

Ibe said that such enlightenment had also been given to the corps members for the March 9 Governorship and House of Assembly polls to be of good conduct.

“We expect nothing less from them in the gubernatorial polls as they have the duty of serving the country with fairness and commitment.” (NAN)

– Mar. 4, 2019 @ 16:05 GMT |