For personnel who will be engaged in Saturday’s voters’ registration exercise and the April general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday spelt out remunerations, security arrangements and insurance packages that have been put in place for officers and Ad-hoc staff of the commission.

The Commission’s Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega while addressing a joint press conference with the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Director-General, Brigadier General Marahazau Tsiga, informed that amongst others, N30, 000 will be paid all Ad-hoc staff deployed for the voters’ registration exercise. Also a group life insurance with comprehensive coverage has been taken for all personnel that will be involved in both the voters’ registration and the general elections.

"Each corps member is being treated as someone at the entry level of the Federal Civil Service, on grade level 8, step 1. The value of the insurance coverage is the total emoluments of a graduate and that is almost N700, 000," A National Commissioner, Professor Nuhu Yakub disclosed at the briefing.

At the rate of N700, 000 each for the corps member who loses his life during the two weeks’ exercise, the Group Life insurance package for the two weeks exercise provides a total life insurance compensation package of N168, 000,000,000.

In all, N7. 2 billion has been earmarked to pay 240, 000 corps members at the rate of N30, 000 during the 14 days voters’ registration exercise.

Jega made clarifications on the engagement of Ad-hoc staff in view of the outcry surrounding remuneration of Ad-hoc staff for Saturday’s exercise and the general elections.

"I also want to say that even though not every corps member will be used for the voters registration exercise, we will mobilise virtually all corps members when the election time comes in April

There is perhaps no monetary compensation that can be considered adequate for this kind of national service. But still we can only provide compensation in accordance with the budgetary constraints. Accordingly as we prepare for this exercise, all Ad-hoc staff that will be deployed from the NYSC to those from the tertiary institutions involved will be paid N30, 000 for the duration of the voters registration exercise.

"The payment of this allowance is segmented into two. N10, 000 will be paid in advance before they go to the field and N20, 000 will be paid at the completion of the exercise" Jega informed.