Youth Corps members deployed to participate in the 2019 elections also have bitter tales over the postponement of the polls.

In Jigawa State, majority of the corps members engaged by INEC, said they slept in their places of electoral assignment only to be confronted with rumours that the elections had been postponed.

Many of them said they got the information via social media which they later called to confirm.

One of the corps members told Daily Trust on Sunday that he got the information of the postponement around 4am.

The corps member whose place of electoral duty was in Sandamina village in Birnin Kudi expressed displeasure over the way INEC handled them because no official from the commission informed them that the elections were postponed.

Samira Abubakar who was shortlisted for the elections in Gaya Local Government Area of the state, told Daily Trust on Sunday that she left her station in Kano Metropolis to Gaya only to be told late in the night that her name and that of many others were not in the list sent to the local government.

“We were told that as far as INEC was concerned in Gaya we did not exist, as our names were not sent to Gaya. Many of us affected had to find a way out for our safety back to Kano. I had to put a call to a friend who drove to Gaya around 12:30am to pick me. I left many there stranded and I don’t know whether they slept there or not. It was on Saturday morning that I heard the elections were suspended,” said Samira.

Miss Paulina Ishaku, an INEC ad hoc staff from Bayero University Kano, said she was lucky to be posted within Kano. According to her, INEC had posted her to Kano Municipal Local Government Area and that she arrived there and slept in a friend’s house only to be told that the elections were postponed.

Another NYSC member who got shortlisted as ad hoc INEC staff, Mr. Thaddeus Manga, said the news of the postponed elections came to them as a blessing because the atmosphere before the postponement was so tensed in Gwale Local Government Area where he was posted to.

“To be honest with you, the news was a relief to us; we were so scared because the atmosphere was so tensed here. We spent Friday night awake in the local government secretariat all through, and when we heard that it was postponed, we felt relieved. We left there as early as we could to our various destinations,” he said.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that most of the youth corps members who we0re employed as INEC ad hoc staff in Bauchi State were returning to their places of primary assignment.

“Many of our members, especially those that were posted to places not far from their places of primary assignment, have returned. We are in touch with them, and as I speak to you, we are aware of those who returned and those who are on their way,” the source stated.

In Kogi State, INEC says it has commenced the redeployment of sensitive materials back to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

INEC Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Ahmed Biambo, who disclosed this to Daily Trust on Sunday, said the decision followed the rescheduling of the general elections.

He said the sensitive materials earlier deployed would be cross-checked to ensure they were intact before moving them to the CBN.

Also, the sensitive materials dispatched by INEC are said to be under the custody of DPOs in Yobe State.

Confirming this, the Police Commissioner of Yobe State, Abdulmaliki Sunmonu, told our correspondent that all the materials were safe and strictly guarded by his men at the police stations.

However, there were mixed reactions on the postponement in the state, especially the state capital, Damaturu, where many voters travelled or went to bed prepared to set out early for the elections.

Malam Nasiru Ahmed said he was not aware of the postponement until he reached a check point on his way to Potiskum.

“The soldiers started laughing when I told them that I was going for the elections. I believe this may be the situation for mamy people,” he said.

A mother and school teacher, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, complained that the elections had affected the calendar of students across the country.

“Already, some of the children have been sent home, with this development, we don’t know how long they will continue to be at home,” she complained.