By A reprieve has been given to the former finance minister, Mrs. Kemi Adosun as regards the controversy over her participation in the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC).
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, cleared her on the matter.
In his ruling, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, held that Adeosun was not qualified to have participated in NYSC when she graduated at 22 years because she was then a British citizen.
Justice Taiwo added that as at when she formally returned to Nigeria, and became a Nigerian citizen, at over 30 years, she was not eligible to present herself for the NYSC service.
“In fact, it would have been a criminal offence if she had participated in the NYSC under any guise.
“She had also been self-employed and was not in the employment of any agency or government, and therefore, she did not have to present a certificate of discharge as a prerequisite for employment,” the judge said.
According to the ruling, Adeosun or anyone did not require a discharge certificate of NYSC to qualify to contest election to the House of Representatives or be appointed a Minister in Nigeria.
The judgment was on a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/303/2021 filed by Adeosun, with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as the sole defendant.
The former finance minister, through her lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued that she was not a Nigerian citizen at the time of her graduation from the university.
Justice Taiwo proceeded to grant the four reliefs sought by the plaintiff including “a declaration that the plaintiff, being a United Kingdom citizen as at 1989 when she graduated from the University of East London, London, United Kingdom at the age of 22 years, was ineligible to participate in the National Youth Service Corpse scheme, established by the National Youth Service Corps Act, CAP N8, LFN, 2004.”
Appointed as the Minister of Finance in November 2015, Adeosun who had earlier served as the Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State, was alleged to have forged her NYSC exemption certificate.
Following the controversy surrounding the allegations, she was forced to resign in September 2019.
