Adeosun NYSC scandal: What we know so far

Dusts are still rising as Nigerians wait with keen interest for the outcome of the investigation mounted by the headquarters of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) into the alleged certificate forgery scandal involving the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. Adeosun for almost a week now has been enmeshed in a scandal portent […]

Dusts are still rising as Nigerians wait with keen interest for the outcome of the investigation mounted by the headquarters of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) into the alleged certificate forgery scandal involving the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

Adeosun for almost a week now has been enmeshed in a scandal portent enough to question her hounour as a minister of the federal republic, and possibly imprisonment, after Premium Times, an online newspaper did an exclusive story questioning the genuineness or falsity of the NYSC exemption certificate she presented during her screening at the National Assembly following her nomination as a minister by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Meetings upon meetings have been held, though the minister is yet to make any official statement in reaction to the alleged scandal, Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the NYSC to pass its final verdict on the NYSC exemption certificate in question.

So far this is what we know about the saga:

1          Kemi Adeosun who was born in England in 1967, pursued all her education career in England and graduated in 1989 at the age of 22 from the Polytechnic of East London, now University of East London. Having graduated before the age of 30, she was by the provisions of the NYSC Act supposed to undergo a mandatory service year for her to qualify for any position, be it in public or private sector in Nigeria. 

“The NYSC Act required she must serve because she graduated below the age of 30. Only those above the age of 30 or have been awarded national honours or fall into any of the exemption categories enumerated in Section 2 (2) of the Act can be eligible for formal employment in the country. Therefore, notwithstanding how old Mrs Adeosun may be, she will have to enroll for NYSC because she graduated before 30” an official of the NYSC told PREMIUM TIMES.

2          Adeosun obtained the certificate in question twenty years after her graduation in September 2009. The certificate, according to reports was purportedly signed by a late Director General of the scheme, Yusuf Bomoi who was said to have retired from service eight months earlier than the date the minster obtained the document.

3          NYSC officials were unable to authenticate the purported certificate despite several weeks of efforts as some of the officials questioned the size and calligraphy saying it appears different from the ones the scheme issue out.

“This is not the size of our exemption certificate,” a top official told PREMIUM TIMES when shown a copy of the certificate Adeosun has been parading. “The calligraphy is also different”.

4          The management of NYSC admitted that the Minister had actually applied for an Exemption Certificate but was not specific whether Adeosun had been issued the certificate. In a statement signed by the Director, Press and Publications Relations, Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, the scheme said it will investigate the origin of the purported Exemption Certificate in question.

5          The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung on Wednesday summoned the Director General of NYSC Brigadier General Suleiman Kazaure to obtain firsthand information from the DG on what transpired and how far the scheme had gone with the investigation.  Dalung promised that as soon as he was done getting the brief from the NYSC boss, he would brief Nigerians on the matter.