– By Joseph Edun
ABUJA, NIGERIA- An investigate report published by an online news portal, Premium Times has revealed that the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun did not carry out the mandatory NYSC service compulsory for all Nigerian graduates who are not up to 30 years of age. The year-long service is a mandatory requirement for both government and private sector jobs in Nigeria.
It was revealed that Mrs Adeosun who graduated at 22 years from Polytechnic of East London, renamed University of East London, in 1989, forged the NYSC exemption certificate she parades. The ‘fake’ certificate issued on September 9, 2009, and purportedly signed by Yusuf Bomoi, a former director-general of the corps who resigned in January 2009 cited age as the reason for the exemption. However, exemption certificates are only issued to graduates who are above 30 years at the time of graduation, holders of national honours, persons who served in the armed forces or the police for up to nine months and staff of intelligence agencies, or the armed forces. Mrs Adeosun clearly does not fall into any of these categories.
Mrs Adeosun has worked in top-profile private organisations such as Pricewaterhouseooper, and in the public sector as the commissioner of finance in Ogun State and presently as the finance minister of Nigeria with the same certificate. The private organisations failed to verify the certificate while it was reported that the Senate discovered the discrepancy during the ministerial screening but still went ahead to clear her . The Senate leadership has been accused of using this information to blackmail and extort the finance minster. Working with a fake certificate is illegal in Nigeria and is a punishable offence under the Nigerian law.
The NYSC responded on Monday to the report that Mrs Adeosun did apply for an exemption but did not state when she applied for it, if she was granted and on what basis she applied for the exemption. The commission also said it would investigate the alleged ‘fake certificate’. Mrs Adeosun has not made any statement yet about the allegation.
