NYSC: Former Finance Minister Speaks After Court Judgement
Nigeria’s former minister Kemi Adeosun Wednesday said the judgement by an Abuja court that she did not need to have a National Youth Service Corps before she could serve as a minister was a vindication of her position.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, said Adeosun did not need to have a first degree or any other certificate before she could be appointed as a minister in the country.
Adeosun served as Nigeria’s minister for finance between November 2015 and September 2018.
She resigned after she was accused of forging her NYSC exemption certificate.
“The ruling vindicates me after a very traumatic spell,” Adeosun said in a statement posted to her Facebook page.
“It is, however, not only a personal victory; it’s also a victory for many Nigerians in the Diaspora under similar conditions who are desirous to serve their country.”
Kemi Adeosun, a former investment banker and accountant, served as finance commissioner in the southwestern state of Ogun before being named in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet in 2015.
In Nigeria, it is mandatory for university graduates and holders of Higher National Diploma who are not older than 30 years to undergo mandatory national youth service.
The British-Nigerian studied and lived largely in the United Kingdom. She did not return to Nigeria until she was 34 and did not serve the mandatory one year as a youth corps.
“I wish to add in light of the court’s ruling, I will at the appropriate time and without hesitation, take all further steps necessary within the law to protect my reputation,” she said.
