UNBELIEVABLE! BRIDE HUNTS FOR JOB....IN WEDDING GOWN

WALE ELEGBEDE

UNEMPLOYMENT boredom is really driving some graduates bananas or how else could the comic script played out in River State recently be best explained. It was a drama definitely beyond the crunch on plum oil firm job.

Bride rushes to exam venue
Calm of applicants writing examination for employment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was jolted last weekend as a young lady simply identified as Nonye, in her wedding gown rushed straight to the hall and grabbed a seat and sweated it out with the rest over the questions.

National Daily Weekend gathered that the newly-wed bride did not care much for the negative reactions of people around when in the full wedding regalia she dashed out of the reception to partake of the NNPC's aptitude test, instead of proceeding straight to enjoy their honeymoon an option, most women in her shoes would have chosen .
The test which was conducted nationwide, attracted thousands of applicants who thronged out to try their luck in the NNPC employment process.

Lesson for job hunters
Nonye who just got the priced certificate of Mrs., after a hard work , shocked crowds when for job-sake she literarily abandoned her husband and other family members and dashed to the test center at FGGC Rumuokoro, Port-Harcourt, to write the exams.

Despite the steers and being hounded by the paparazzi who clicked away at their camera lenses, the bride remained undaunted and refused to be distracted. Some of the people around were said to have shook their heads in pity at how unemployment situation has made people throw decency to the winds and has now seemingly tended to rubbish the sacred institution of marriage, by trying to, though temporarily put asunder the bride couple shortly after they were joined to the applaud and admiration of all well-wishers.

Though the scene attracted so much attention, raised many brows as well as attracted criticisms , it indeed created a comic relief for the applicants some of whom castigated her action as being a mere “attention seeking” ploy. But quite a handful commended her resolute determination to be part of the exercise despite its coincided with her wedding.

I’m Not Aware Of Anti-Party Activities – IBB

Wednesday, 27 April 2011 02:53 Stanley Nkwocha, Abuja and Abu Nmodu, Minna


• ‘We won’t sanction him, others’
Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), has said that the alleged anti party activities have not been formally made known to him by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  He also said that the low turnout of voters recorded in the state was due to post-election violence. Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), also described the post-election violence as “idiotic” and not capable of solving any problem in the country but rather aggravate the country’s problems.
IBB and Abdulsami said this when they cast their votes at the Hill Top polling station in Minna, Niger State.  The duo spoke when journalists sought their views on their views on the post-election violence.
IBB, who was asked to comment on the alleged anti-party activities charge levelled against him by PDP said, “I have no reaction, no, I read it in a newspaper and I don’t think I should believe that, because most of those things you write are not believable”.
On the speculation that he brokered the failed alliance between the CPC and the ACN he said “Did you read the press statement by Kassim Afegbua that answered it all”.
Speaking on the violence, Babangida said “We must be worried over the spate of violence, the government I am sure will do the best it can to bring about peace and stability in the country.”
The former military president said that the fear of the post-election violence should not have deterred voters from voting.
He added, “This is a constitutional responsibility so I think I will only advise the voters to bear the consequences and come out to vote. There are security agencies; police and the military with the responsibility of maintaining peace and security”.
Meanwhile, the PDP has debunked rumours that its National Working Committee (NWC) is planning to sanction Babangida, Alhaji Aliyu Gusau and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for alleged anti-party activities.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP said that it had become imperative to clear the air so that Nigerians would not be misled, adding that at no time did the NWC at its meeting take any decision to sanction or punish the said persons for anti-party activities.
The statement said, “The concern of the party at the moment is to win election at all levels and therefore will not be distracted from its main focus. In the event that the party finds it necessary to look at the activities of its members before and during the general elections, they are procedures and appropriate channels for taking such actions.
“We wish to therefore call on those working for our leaders and elders in the party to cross check media reports before going to the press.”
 leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29786:im-not-aware-of-anti-party-activities--ibb&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=142

Nigerian Muslims Lock University Poll Workers in Hostel & Torch It

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 6:43 AM

 

  
An unidentified man walks past the destroyed Zonkwa market in Zonkwa, Nigeria, Thursday, April 21, 2011. Nigerian officials on Thursday delayed next week’s gubernatorial elections in two predominantly Muslim northern states that have been wracked by deadly riots and retaliatory violence since the presidential election was won by a Christian from the country’s south. (AP/Sunday Alamba)

A group of university students were among the dead last week after the presidential elections in Nigeria. The young poll workers were locked in their hostel and it was set ablaze after the Muslim candidate lost in a landslide.
Macon.com reported:

Officials tasked the four young college graduates with monitoring election stations during Nigeria’s presidential vote. Then when the poll results unleashed sectarian violence, an angry mob killed them by locking them inside their youth hostel and setting it ablaze.
Dozens of their colleagues in a nearby state narrowly escaped death after rioters torched their hostel too, leaving many with serious burns and few options to go home.
Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps is a mandatory yearlong assignment for all Nigerians who graduate from university before the age of 30. Most serve as teachers during their stint, but the April national elections have brought extra responsibilities – and danger – to their work.
Now federal officials are vowing to step up protection for young volunteers in the areas wracked by violence, while worried parents are wondering whether their children can be reassigned away from towns marked by charred bodies and torched buildings.
Attahiru Jega, chief of Nigeria’s Independent Election Commission, said the young Nigerians had been targeted “to scare them away from continuing the honorable and excellent work they have been doing during these elections.”
“I call on them, their parents and guardians not to allow the perpetrators of violence to scare them away from the noble job they are doing for this country,” Jega said. “I commiserate with all those who have been affected in one way or the other by the violence. Some have paid the ultimate price for democracy and I am sure that I speak the minds of all Nigerians if I say that the nation will be eternally grateful to them.”

 gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/nigerian-muslims-lock-university-poll-workers-in-hostel-torch-it/

Nigeria rights group says over 500 killed in riots

　
 25 April 2011


* Rights group says death toll over 500
* Fears of further unrest around state elections
* Opposition party vows to go to court
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS, April 24 (Reuters) - More than 500 people were killed in post-election violence last week in the mostly Muslim north, a Nigerian human rights group said on Sunday, and it warned of further unrest during state elections.
Youths launched protests in northern towns and cities after President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, was declared the victor of an April 16 election, defeating former military ruler and northern Muslim Muhammadu Buhari.
Observers and many Nigerians say the vote was the most credible in Africa's most populous nation for decades and world leaders have congratulated Jonathan. But Buhari says the count was rigged and his supporters have refused to accept defeat.
Nigeria's Civil Rights Congress (CRC) said more than 500 people were killed on Monday and Tuesday in three towns alone -- Zonkwa, Kafanchan and Zangon Kataf -- in the southern part of Kaduna state, one of the worst-hit areas.
"The victims were encircled, raided and hacked to death and their homes burned," CRC president Shehu Sani said in a report based on testimony from the group's members in the communities.
Churches, mosques, homes and shops were set ablaze in the rioting. Although a military-enforced curfew brought the violence under control in major cities after little more than a day, soldiers took longer to deploy to more remote towns.
Sani said the CRC -- which is based in Kaduna -- confirmed 316 dead in Zonkwa, 147 in Zangon Kataf and 83 in Kafanchan.
"Soldiers did not get there until afterwards," he said.
A tally of figures from Red Cross officials, health workers and Reuters witnesses who visited morgues showed the toll was at least 130. But that was only in a few major towns and cities, excluding those mentioned in the CRC report.
More than 40,000 people were displaced by the violence.
STATE ELECTIONS
Nigeria is home to more than 250 ethnic groups, most of whom live peacefully side by side. The majority of the Muslim population live in the north while the south is predominantly Christian, although sizeable minorities live in both regions.
Jonathan and Buhari have condemned the unrest, but fiercely contested governorship elections are due in most of Nigeria's states on Tuesday and there are fears of further violence where there are close races between the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
The polls in Kaduna and Bauchi states in the north have been postponed by two days because of the security situation there.
"The CPC is being seen as a Muslim party and the PDP is being seen as a Christian party. Whichever way the election goes, there is going to be a problem," Sani said of Kaduna.
The CPC plans to go to court to challenge the presidential election result, on the grounds that the ruling party and electoral commission conspired to rig computers at collation centres and deprive him of victory.
"The facade at the polling units must be unmasked for this election to be seen for the sham that it truly was," Tunde Bakare, an evangelical pastor and Buhari's running mate in the presidential race, told reporters in Lagos on Saturday.
"No legitimate government can be formed on a stolen mandate." The results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed Jonathan had more than 22 million votes compared to around 12 million for Buhari.

af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFLDE73N06420110424?sp=true

FACTBOX-Regional battlegrounds in Nigerian elections

Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:51pm GMT

 

[-] Text [+]

April 25 (Reuters) - Nigeria will hold elections to select governors for the majority of its 36 states this week, after a presidential vote nine days ago sparked rioting in the north in which hundreds of people are feared to have been killed.
Following are some of the regional races which will be closely watched.

NORTH
-- Kaduna state: more than 500 people were killed in post election violence last week in the southern part of the state, according to Nigeria's Civil Rights Congress.
The governorship vote has been delayed by two days to allow tensions to ease and for security personnel to prepare.
Youths launched protests in northern towns and cities after President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, was declared the victor of an April 16 election, defeating former military ruler and northern Muslim Muhammadu Buhari.
Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) have put forward incumbent governor Patrick Yakowa for a second term but he will face strong opposition from Buhari's party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), whose hopeful is Haruna Sa'ad Kajuru.
The PDP will be keen to hold on to its governorship control in Kaduna to prove it still has a strong northern following.
-- Bauchi state: another state where violence was fierce following Jonathan's victory. The race between the incumbent PDP and opposition CPC candidates is again expected to be close.
The vote will also be postponed by two days and a heavy security presence is expected but many parts of the state are isolated rural areas where trouble can quickly flare up.
-- Kano state: an opposition-controlled state where Jonathan performed well in the presidential race despite one of his opponents, Ibrahim Shekarau, having just served two terms as governor in the home of northern Nigeria's most populous city.
CPC replaced its original controversial candidate, the son of late dictator Sani Abacha, removing one potential flashpoint.
-- Borno state: radical Islamic sect Boko Haram was suspected to be behind bomb attacks in the state capital that killed at least two people on Sunday. [ID:nLDE73O044]
Boko Haram launched an uprising in 2009 in which hundreds of people were killed and the group's attacks have become increasingly political. Gunmen in January assassinated Modu Fannami Gubio, the opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) candidate who was favourite to win in April, and pledged further attacks on the ANPP which controls the state. [ID:nLDE72S29K]
-- Other northern states like Katsina, Buhari's home state, where PDP risk losing their control, will be carefully watched.

NIGER DELTA
-- Bayelsa, Jonathan's home state: A bitter governorship battle between incumbent PDP governor Timipre Sylva, and ex-presidential adviser Timi Alaibe has been delayed until next year after an appeal court judgment upheld a ruling which said Sylva had not yet served his four year term.
But elections for the state house of assembly will go ahead and are likely to be fierce races. Some federal parliamentary seats will also be contested after the original vote on April 9 was marred by ballot box snatching in some areas.
-- Delta state: PDP governor Emmanuel Uduaghan was in January declared winner of a re-run election, held amid tight security, after a court last year overturned his 2007 victory.
His main opponent, Great Ogboru, questioned the conduct of the re-run, and his supporters alleged rigging, setting the stage for a fierce showdown this week.
-- Akwa Ibom state: A state riddled with tension where the candidate for opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) James Akpanudoedehe was charged with treason for alleged involvement in fatal rioting between rival supporters last month.

SOUTHWEST
-- Ogun state: A controversial split within the PDP saw incumbent governor Gbenga Daniel defect to People's Party of Nigeria (PPN) after former president and PDP stalwart Olusegun Obasanjo blocked his attempt to run for a Senate seat.
Obasanjo and Daniel are now backing opposing governorship candidates for PDP and PPN, which could split the vote and open the door for the ACN party, which holds several other states in the southwest including the commercial capital Lagos.
-- Oyo state: This will be a key battle ground with PDP governor Christopher Alao-Akala facing strong opposition in a state which has already seen political violence, including the murder of a union leader during a campaign rally.

MIDDLE BELT
-- Plateau state: More than 200 people have been killed in and around the state capital Jos since December in sectarian clashes between indigenous groups, mostly Christian, and settlers from the mostly Muslim north.
The tension is rooted in fierce competition for local political power and control of fertile farmlands, resentment which local government policies have done little to calm. Campaign rallies could trigger further violence.

 (Reporting by Joe Brock; editing by Nick Tattersall)

 af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFLDE73O02Z20110425?sp=true

High stakes as Nigerians vote for state governors

Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:45pm GMT

 

By Nick Tattersall UYO, Nigeria (Reuters) - After a parliamentary vote delayed by administrative chaos and a presidential election that triggered deadly rioting, Nigerians head to the polls Tuesday to elect state governors who exert more control on their lives. The contests are set to be fiercely fought. The 36 state governors are among the most powerful politicians in Nigeria, wielding influence at national level and controlling budgets in some cases larger than those of small African nations. From the mangrove swamps of the southern oil-producing Niger Delta to the dusty northern towns on the fringes of the Sahara, it is the state governor who is seen as the one who will provide new roads, schools and hospitals. "These are positions that have much more bearing on people's local communities and aspirations so these are very contentious elections, much more fiercely fought," said Clement Nwankwo, head of Nigeria's Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre. "My worry is that some politicians are much more desperate and willing to take bigger risks," he said. This month's elections have already been an emotional rollercoaster for the 73 million registered voters in Nigeria, which -- until 10 days ago -- had failed to hold a single credible election since the end of military rule in 1999. Huge optimism over electoral reforms turned to disappointment when parliamentary polls, originally scheduled for April 2, had to be delayed by a week after voting materials failed to arrive at polling centres on time. Hope was restored by a presidential race on April 16 deemed the freest and fairest in decades, but the euphoria was marred by rioting in the mostly-Muslim north last week over the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian. Hundreds were feared to have been killed and more than 40,000 displaced in the violence, in which churches, mosques, homes and shops were set ablaze. Tuesday's vote has been delayed by two days in Kaduna and Bauchi, two of the worst-hit areas. Members of the National Youth Corps, graduates doing their national service by helping run polling units, were targeted and there are fears some will be too afraid to return. But voters voiced determination. "Nobody can frustrate me from voting for who I want. Our party supporters will come out en masse," said Garba Musa, 45, a carpenter in the northern city of Kano. RULING PARTY UNDER PRESSURE Jonathan may have been declared the winner of the presidential race but his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has already seen its parliamentary majority weakened, is expected to lose ground at the state level. A poll by global research firm Ipsos published in This Day newspaper Monday showed the PDP, which currently controls more than two thirds of the 36 states, could lose as many as nine to opposition parties. The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) of former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, Jonathan's main rival in the presidential race, who claims rigging deprived him of victory, is expected to perform strongly in the north. There are also fierce battlegrounds between the PDP and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) opposition party, whose stronghold is the southwest, as well as in the Niger Delta. The state of Akwa Ibom, on the edge of the oil-producing region, has already seen rioting in which dozens of cars were burnt. The ACN governorship candidate, James Akpanudoedehe, was arrested and charged with treason over the unrest, triggering further protests, although he has since been released. Akwa Ibom's resident electoral commissioner, Maria Owi, said the army would be stationed closer to polling units this time. "They should be on standby just in case anything happens," she told Reuters in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital. Police in Bayelsa state, also in the Niger Delta and facing a fiercely-fought election, arrested seven men Monday with 52 locally-made guns, raising fears of violence there. In the federal parliament polls, few voters could name their candidates and turnout was low. There was more enthusiasm at the presidential election, but the debate on the street was around personalities rather than policies. Tuesday, much more is at stake. "Graduates are having to make a living out of this, the only industry here," said Aniete Bassey, 45, pointing to a group of young men who work as motorcycle taxi riders in Uyo. "The money is benefiting a few while the masses suffer. We need change," he said, vowing to cast his vote. (Additional reporting by Austin Ekeinde in Uyo, Samuel Tife in Yenagoa, Mike Oboh in Kano; Writing by Nick Tattersall; editing by James Jukwey). af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE73O43M20110425?sp=true

Violence Threatens Gubernatorial Polls

Except government moves to stem the brazen and unwarranted attack on youth corps members, ensure their safety and restore their confidence on its ability to protect them, INEC may not be able to conduct the gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections scheduled for April 26th. Besides, angry voters in most northern states have burnt their voter cards in protest and automatically disenfranchised themselves from partaking in the gubernatorial elections. These and many more challenges put next Tuesday’s polls in jeopardy Michael Oche writes.
Indications point that next Tuesday’s polls may be in jeopardy unless urgent steps are taken. Frustrated voters are burning their voter cards in large section of the north and corps members are fleeing as parents continue to raise concerns for the safety of their wards
A Keke NAPEP operator who gave his name as Ibrahim told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, "I am disappointed with the process but since I cannot take to the street I have decided not to partake in future elections. In fact, I have burnt my voter card because it has no use to me"
INEC offices were razed in some areas by rampaging youths, a situation which has left the Commission short of ad hoc staff, as youth corps member, willing to work for it in those state were frightened by that. Although INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega insists the elections would go on as scheduled despite the violence it may not be that easy and seamless.
The governorship and House of Assembly elections in Jigawa State may be affected by the shortage of ad-hoc officials as some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have abandoned their primary assignments.
Corps members serving in Hadejia Local Council had sent a Save Our Souls (SOS) message to the NYSC coordinator in the state following threats to their lives during post- election violence in the area last Monday.
Consequently, the state NYSC Coordinator, Mr. Baba Ahmed, has withdrawn the 350 corps members from the area due to insecurity.
Ahmed said the corps members were withdrawn from their places of primary assignments because of threats to their lives by hoodlums in the area.
He said that the NYSC had informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the corps members in Hadejia would not participate in the forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Besides the fleeing corps members, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is complaining of office accommodation in order to conduct the Saturday polls in some places. Many of the commission’s offices in some parts of the North were razed down during the mayhem. Though the governorship election has been postponed in some states where the violence was intense, the electoral body still has issues of office accommodation to contain with. Also, security of election materials is another headache for the commission.
In Bauchi State, for example, four INEC offices have been burnt down in Bauchi, Dambam, Misau and Jama’are local governments while 500 laptops used for the voter registration exercise were looted by the irate youths.
Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda, said 600 of the corps members have been evacuated from some parts of the state and accommodated at the Staff Development Center and the army barracks as government is committed to their safety.
Director-General of the NYSC, General Maharazu I. Tsiga, who was visibly worried over the incident, said arrangements are being made to evacuate all the corps members from Bauchi to their various home states, saying: "Our concern is to ensure your safety by organising a convoy of vehicles that will take you to the nearest safe place so that you will be reunited with your families."
Amidst shouts of ‘We want to go home’ from the corps members, the NYSC DG declared that from the present situation, "The corps members may not be used for the remaining elections since they have been made targets by criminals."
Following the outbreak of violence and attack targeted on youth corps members, leadership Sunday checks reveal that most of them and non indigenous ad-hoc staff employed by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election in Northern Nigeria have fled for safety.
There are fears that names of corps members who fail to turn up may be replaced with loyal party members if INEC is not proactive enough to keep such scenario under check.
Recall that INEC’s Returning Officer for Ika federal constituency in Delta State, Dr Godwin Avwioro, publicly announced that some chieftains of a political party changed all the youth corps members sent to the area, prepared uniforms for fake corps members believed to be brothers and sisters of party candidates and made him to sign the result under duress.
He said: "My attention was brought to the fact that some corps members were protesting the substitution of their names on the INEC ad hoc staff list, a few days before the election. Their names were substituted with the names of brothers and sisters and those close to the people contesting".
Few days after his declaration, he was reportedly kidnapped.
Despite the assurance from INEC on the safety of corps members, parents have raised concerns about sending their wards to volatile areas to act as INEC ad-hoc staff. Already, thousands of Nigerians have been displaced by the post election violence and elections have been postponed in two states of Kaduna and Bauchi.
Some of the youth corps members that spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity confirmed they are afraid for their lives and have no plans of returning to the polling centres, until INEC can guarantee their safety
Reports say angry youths protesting the results of the presidential election stormed the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF) Secretariat in the heart of Minna, the Niger State capital and forcibly locked the Corps members in and set the building on fire. But lucky enough for them, the leader of the Corps members, fondly called Papa by his colleagues, found the strength to break down the door and set his colleagues free.
The irate youths however succeeded in setting the NCCF 18-seater bus and a motorcycle belonging to the fellowship ablaze. The ugly development has forced the NYSC to direct all Corps members in Chanchaga (Minna) Local Government Area to relocate from their homes to the Nigeria Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) barracks on the outskirts of the city.
Leadership Sunday learnt that parents, whose children are serving in the National Youth Service Corps, have protested to the NYSC directorate over the brazen attack on corps members, and vowed not to allow their children to participate in the subsequent elections.
A parent Mrs. Nwosu Esther told our correspondent "there is killing everywhere. People are being killed on daily basis. As much as we want our children to contribute their quota to the country, we will not allow our children to become targets for politicians and their thugs, in their bid to settle scores".
Sources within the National Youth Service Corps headquarters in Abuja also told leadership Sunday that its director general is unwilling to release youth corps members for the remaining elections, particularly in the North; as such and action will amount to putting them in harm’s way.
Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, last Tuesday visited INEC chairman where he lamented attacks targeted at Corps members by hoodlums saying such actions might dissuade them from continuing with the exercise.
Though Jega assured the DG of the safety of corps members but feelers say the corps members are not comfortable with returning to the field.
Checks revealed that political parties had proposed to INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, to conduct the gubernatorial elections scheduled for April 26th in the South only, since the North was engulfed in violence. But Jega was said to have told them that he will do no such thing.

INEC moves election in two states:
However, as the violence gets messier, Jega was forced to announce that INEC has postponed elections in Bauchi and Kaduna states. INEC said that the election in the two states would now hold on April 28 and that this was tentative.
"In the past few days, the Commission in conjunction with security agencies, NYSC and political parties has carefully been assessing the feasibility of holding the upcoming April 26th elections in the states most affected by the violence".
"The assessment shows that there is marked improvement in security in some of the States for the elections to hold. However, in others, specifically Kaduna and Bauchi states, the security situation remains a source of concern".
"Consequently, the Commission is constrained to postpone the April 26th elections in the two States in accordance with Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) from April 26th to April 28th 2011. This is to allow for further cooling of tempers and for the security situation in those States to improve".
"I call on them, their parents and guardians not to allow the perpetrators of violence to scare them away from the noble job they are doing for this country".

Jonathan Speaks on plight of corpers:
"I have authorised our security services to use all lawful means, including justifiable force to bring an immediate end to all acts of violence against our fellow citizens".
"In view of the condemnable attacks on our gallant Youth corps members, I have directed all state Governors to take personal responsibility for their security and safety in the States where they serve," Jega had said.

Jega assures on security
Speaking on Tuesday when the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, visited INEC, Prof. Jega decried wanton attacks that have been unleashed on Youth Corps members who constitute the bulk of ad hoc staff engaged by the Commission for the ongoing general election.
Prof. Jega reassured parents of the safety of their wards, saying no effort will be spared to protect them against further attacks. He again extolled the commitment of the Corps members, as had been commended by domestic and international observers of the elections.
He pledged that INEC would engage appropriate authorities at the highest level towards ensuring the protection of Corps members involved in election duties.
Brig.-Gen. Tsiga had lamented attacks targeted at Corps members by hoodlums had become a disincentive for the Corps members engaged in election duties and might dissuade them from continuing with the exercise.
Prof. Jega empathized with the corps members, but regretted that their succumbing to intimidation at this point would fulfill the objective of the perpetrators of violence.

Buhari speaks on burning of voters cards
Since the violence broke out, residents in most of the affected states are taking refuge in army and police barracks. Residents of the affected areas who are taking refuge in some barracks and camps have automatically been disenfranchised.
Some voters could also face disenfranchisement that was not as accidental as that of people in refugee camps. In their case, they are saddened with the result of the presidential elections and have decided to destroy their voter cards. It is widely allegedly that most of the CPC supporters have burnt their voter cards in protest of the outcome of the last Saturday’s presidential election.
The act of burning their voter cards would stop them from voting in the governorship election. Appealing for calm on the basis of ongoing moves to recover what he claimed was a stolen mandate, Buhari said in a statement issued on his behalf by his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin that:
"Information has reached me that, out of frustration, some of you have been destroying your voter’s cards. This is a very grievous mistake, which is not going to solve any of your problems. I urge you to preserve and safeguard your cards, and come out en-masse on Tuesday to vote out and disgrace your oppressors who have stolen your votes. If you don’t do this, it is to be feared that all your efforts will have been in vain."

Jega insists gubernatorial polls to go on
Despite the outbreak of violence that trailed the presidential election in some parts of the northern states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it is going ahead with plans to conduct governorship elections next Tuesday. Speaking on the issue recently, Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu, said the commission is going ahead with plans for the governorship elections as scheduled.
Also, in a statement, INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega said the commission is working with the security agencies to ensure that the remainder of the elections are not derailed by violence.
Jega condemned the violence especially attacks targeted at youth corps members saying, "We have received reports that these young men and women have become targets of attacks by unscrupulous persons, whose obvious objective is to derail the elections by intimidating the corps members and scaring them away from their patriotic service to the nation.
"It is particularly distressing that this is happening because in ideal circumstances, these young men and women should be celebrated as heroes of our collective national aspiration for credible and enduring democracy. They have worked in these elections with uncommon courage and diligence. Indeed, their role has been widely commended by both domestic and international observers.
"I am deeply saddened that some of them have suffered losses on account of their selfless investment in the future of our country."
He vowed to ensure the safety of all INEC staff especially members of the NYSC during subsequent elections saying, "our Commission is determined to provide maximum security for all election field workers, especially our ad hoc staff. Already, we have engaged appropriate authorities at the highest level to ensure the protection of corps members and all other ad hoc staff involved in election duties."

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