The National Youth Service Corps has defended an Enugu corps member who was caught allegedly manipulating election results in a polling unit in the state.

The NYSC said the error committed by corps member in Abakpa Ward in Enugu East Local Government Area, was not deliberate.

The corps member was reported to have favoured one of the presidential candidates in the elections held last Saturday.

In a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations of NYSC, Eddy Megwa, the organisation noted that the corps member wrongly entered the election results due to stress faced in the electioneering process.

“To put the records straight, the corps member in question confessed that she was stressed out in the work and was very tired during the counting of ballots, she admitted making a wrong entry of election results,” it read.

The statement further said the corps member observed the mistake and corrected it herself without anybody prompting her.

“In the process, the electorate around her discovered the mistake and concluded that she was trying to manipulate the election results by recording the Labour Party result for the New Nigeria People’s Party candidate,” the statement said.

It further disclosed that the corps member was made to write a report which she attached to the result sheet before submission.

Megwa, however, urged members of the public to be of peaceful conduct before, during and after elections.

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