Corps members protest, delay voting in Ogun over non-payment of allowances

By Folaranmi Ajayi

Corps members working as ad hoc staff for the Independent national electoral commission have protested and refused to work due to the non-payment of their allowances in the Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Not minding the early arrival of voters at various polling units in the LGA, the corps members did not leave Nawar-ud-deen Primary School, Atan-Ota, the designated centre for the collection of election materials, for their various polling units until 12:26 pm.

These corps members told Edugist correspondent that they were greeted with poor welfare condition by the officials of the commission.

“You need to see how they treated us as if the electoral body didn’t make any provision for us at all” a corps member told Edugist.

The corps members noted that all through the training process they were not paid and some of then come from a long distance.

These ‘corpers’ slept on the floor. INEC could not even accommodate them in a hotel despite the fact that money was allocated to them,” a sympathetic voter told Edugist.

“Voting has started in other states, but here, we are waiting for accreditation. We don’t even know when it would start. I’m sure we won’t leave here today until 7pm,” another voter, standing close to the first, said.

“The corps members have not been paid their feeding allowances. I learnt that they have brought money to be given to them. But why is INEC acting this way?”

A male corps member, who asked not to be named, confirmed the development to Edugist.

“It is true; INEC has not paid us,” he said.