Red Cross faults exclusion from poll duty

The Gombe State branch of the Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) says its inclusion in the list of voluntary organisations banned from election duty by the police was not right. The state police command had announced the enforcement of a ban on all voluntary organisations including the Red Cross during the general elections.

In a statement in Gombe yesterday, the Head of Disaster Management, Adamu Yakubu, said the Red Cross was established by an act of parliament in 1990 to complement public authorities in humanitarian aid.

“The NRCS is authorised with or without the cooperation of any other society, organisation or association which may have been accorded similar powers by an act of the National Assembly, to act in matters of relief under the said convention.

“We have maintained the status of first responder as mandated by the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) in both natural hazards induced disaster and human-made including but not limited to election violence,” the statement said.

Yakubu added said the state Red Cross would carry out its mandate including emergency response in today’s election.