Politics
Anambra NYSC, INEC Bicker Over Corps Members’ Election Duty Allowances
The National Youth Service Corps in Anambra State has directed corps members on electoral duties during the 2019 general elections who are yet to receive their allowances to forward their names to its secretariat.
Mr Kehinde Aremu, Coordinator of National Youth Service Corps in the state, gave the directive while addressing some corps members in Awka on Tuesday.
Aremu said the directive became necessary following a letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission, Anambra office, which claimed that the commission had paid all corps members who worked as ad-hoc staff during the elections.
Report recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission engaged corps members as ad hoc staff during the February 23 and March 9 general elections.
Some of them, however, staged a protest at the INEC Headquarters in Awka last week, alleging non-payment or incomplete payment of their allowances for the election duties.
The NYSC coordinator said that the issue had resulted in a quarrel between officials of the two agencies in the state.
He said that he was determined to ensure that corps members engaged for the electoral duties were not denied their allowances.
Aremu blamed the problem on INEC’s insistence to handle the deployment of NYSC members to polling units rather than allow the scheme to manage the process.
“You were trained by them, deployed by them, but let me assure you, I will never be part of the plot to defraud you.
“I know many of you were not paid and based on that, I have written to INEC again and again but they have replied me with a stinker, saying I am blackmailing INEC.
“In their letter to me, INEC said they have paid all of you who worked as ad hoc staff during the elections,” the coordinator said.
Aremu however, said he had received list of those affected in four Local Government Areas and urged the NYSC Local Government Inspectors in the remaining ones to forward the list of those affected in their areas.
He warned corps members who were deployed but did not report to the polling units or substituted with other persons not to embarrass themselves and the NYSC by including their names.
“What I have done is to ask all local government inspectors to collate the list of everyone who was deployed and who worked during the election so that I can write them again with strong evidence.
“I already have report of those that have not been paid in four out of the 21 council areas; so, I call on the rest to come up with their reports.”
Contacted, Mr Leo Nkedife, Head, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC, Awka, said the NYSC members that protested were those whose names did not tally with the account details they forwarded to the commission.
Nkedife, however, said that the last batch of the affected corps members would be paid on Tuesday.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
The Kano State House of Assembly has debunked the purported impeachment plan against the Deputy Governor, Aminu Gwarzo.
The Tide source recalls that the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, recently sparked controversy during an interview session with a local radio station.
Mr Waiya called on the deputy governor to resign for failing to follow his principal, Gov. Abba Yusuf, in defecting from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the spokesperson to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Kamaluddeen Shawai, while addressing journalists in Kano on Saturday, described reports circulating in some media outlets about Mr Gwarzo’s impeachment as baseless and misleading, emphasising that no such plan is underway.
Mr Shawai further stated that the House remains focused on its legislative duties and oversight functions rather than engaging in speculative political manoeuvres.
The spokesperson urged members of the public and the media to verify information before sharing it, stressing the importance of accurate reporting in maintaining political stability in the state.
He said, “There is absolutely no motion or initiative within the House to remove the deputy governor.
“These reports are false and should be disregarded by the public. The deputy governor continues to serve in his capacity with full support from the House.
“Our priority is good governance and serving the people of Kano, not circulating rumours.”
She made the declaration during an interview with Nigerian football legend, Mr Segun Odegbami, during a live radio interview on Saturday.
Prof. Obasanjo, who is also former commissioner in the state, ruled out a return to the Senate, stating that her focus was firmly on the governorship race.
“So, moving ahead, I’m not going to be Commissioner. Like I said, I’m not even going back to the same party because I think that’s old and I don’t see the use of it. And I’m not going to go back to the Senate,” she said.
“Like the Americans would say, there’s no need. And this is what I told my associates, when this all started. I said, the only thing I’ll come back to do is the governorship.
“And we have started that journey. We are going to see it through. And so that’s the journey I’m on. And we are very serious about it. I mean we are very dedicated to it.”
The politician also confirmed that she recently joined the APC, explaining that her return to active politics followed persistent calls from supporters.
“Like I told you, a group of people who I did not bring together, have been working, I think, for two years now. And then they started talking to me about a year ago, saying, ‘Look, we think you are the best candidate. We want you back,’” she added.
Her declaration sets the stage for what may become a keenly contested governorship race in Ogun State ahead of the 2027 elections.
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