The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) says no fewer than 8,000 corps members currently serving in Anambra State will be used for the conduct of the November 18 governorship election.

Addressing journalists in Awka on Sunday, the NYSC Coordinator in the state, Mr. Ebenezer Olawale said the data of corps members in the state had been transmitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for planning ahead of the election.

He said more corps members would be moblilised from neighbouring states in case of shortfall, stating that it was no longer news that the NYSC is partnering with INEC in the conduct of credible, fair and good elections, not just in Anambra State but across the federation.

His words: “As we all know, corps members are supposed to be non-partisan as they are not from this state. So we expect them to be fair and they are evenly distributed across the state.

“We have no fewer than 10,000 corps members in this state. But assuming that not all of them will be interested in taking part in the election, we have 8,000 available for this purpose.”

Olawale further said that the NYSC was working with security agencies to ensure that the security of all corps members that would be working during the election.

He said that NYSC would soon embark on a tour of the state to sensitise corps members on their expected role in the election as well as allay their fears over their safety.

“With regards to the security of my members, we have a strong inter-agency collaboration with the Police and other security agencies.

“They have assured us that there would be full mobilisation of security personnel to ensure that NYSC members taking part in the election are safe,” Olawale assured.

While noting that the state was not known for election violence, he called on corps members to conduct themselves in accordance with the manner and rules set by INEC, urging them to be fair and just to all political parties contesting the election.

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