As Nigerians slowly come to terms with the postponement of Saturday’s elections, many youth corps members, deployed as ad-hoc staff for the Independent and National Electoral Commission (INEC), are still stranded in remote communities across the nation. Since the announcement of the postponement, social media has been awash with images of stranded Nigerian youths who are taking part in the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

In many of these images, corps members were seen camping outside and sleeping under trees, while others were pictured sleeping in buses. Reports have it that as soon as the postponement was announced, INEC officials left the polling units along with security personnel, leaving the corps members to their own devices.

In a report on their situation in Ondo State, corps members lamented over the lack of amenities in the temporary places where they had been kept before being moved to the units where they would work. They also reported being kept in places without electricity, water, and proper sleeping facilities, and many reported not being told that the elections had been canceled.

Nigerians have since mobilized via social media to support as many corps members as they can, with food, accommodation, and other needs which they might have. However, there are still concerns that not all corps members who are stranded will be reached.

INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, has since come under fire for the mistreatment of corps members and other ad-hoc staff. Yakubu explained during a press conference the Commission held on Saturday that the centers where corps members were lodged did not belong to the Commission and were only utilized once every four years. He also stated that much had been done to improve the conditions of the centers and much more would be done to make the staff comfortable.

Here is what Mahmoud had to say:

“We have done a lot to improve the super racks. Remember these are not facilities owned by INEC, they are public facilities used by INEC once every four years for a general election or as the need arises.
“But we have taken steps. We have procured generators for each of the super racks because that is the place where the youth corpers revise the training manuals before they are deployed to the polling units. They also see the opportunity to recharge the smart card readers before deployment.
“In some places, we have an understanding with the NYSC to ensure that mattresses are made available. We have also gone out of our way to provide mats, rubber buckets, water tanks, toiletries, to make the condition comfortable for the ad-hoc staff that we engage.”

If Yakubu is right that much had been done to prepare places for corps members, then perhaps not enough was done. This is perhaps best indicated by the fact that as at Saturday the 16th, corps members had not received their allowances. However, since the backlash on social media over the treatement of corps members, reports have it that they have since begun recieving allowances.

It is not certain what will be different going into the elections this week. However, INEC cannot continue on the path it is currently treading where corps members are concerned. Unfortunately, the situation does not call for much optimism because the Commission has highlighted its priorities this week, and nowhere has it listed corps members and other ad-hoc staff.