The Kogi Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mrs Oludolapo Ahile, has died in an auto crash.
The Assistant Director, Public Relations, Kogi NYSC, Mr Adedapo Tayo said that the coordinator was involved in a ghastly accident alongside her husband on Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia highway in Nassarawa State.
Tayo said that the accident occurred at Lafia axis of the highway at about 2 p.m on Thursday, May 16, after her vehicle somersaulted twice and veered into the bush.
Tayo added that the late coordinator and her husband with two other occupants were on their way to Tiv land in Benue for the burial/funeral of her father-in-law.
He said that the four occupants of the vehicle were rushed to the hospital and that it was unfortunate that Ahile died the early hours of Friday, May 17.
Tayo disclosed that her husband, Mr Michael Ahile, the driver and the other persons survived the crash but were injured.
He said that the late Coordinator’s husband whose injuries were more severe was transferred to a hospital in Abuja.
According to Tayo, the late Mrs Ahile left Lokoja around 6 a.m on May 16, to join her husband in Abuja in preparation for the funeral of her father-in-law.
”Her husband, Mr Michael Ahile picked her in Abuja and they embarked on the journey to Tiv land in Benue through Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia highway.
”The accident occurred at Lafia in Nasarrawa State at about 2 p.m, and they were quickly moved to the Lafia Specialist hospital for medical attention.
”By 2 a.m this morning (May 17) we received information that she died at the Specialist Hospital Lafia,” Tayo said.
He said that the NYSC management had directed that the husband Mr Ahile, who had retired as its Director, be moved to a Specialist Hospital in Abuja for adequate medical attention.
Tayo added that the NYSC Directorate Headquarters had also swung into action concerning the sad incident.
”Appreciation goes to Gov. Yahaya Bello, who sent Mr Sani Ogu, the Chairman, NYSC State Governing Board and Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, on a condolence visit to the state secretariat of the NYSC.
“Oludolapo Ahile immensely contributed to the growth of the NYSC scheme in Kogi. She initiated the ongoing construction of NYSC Multipurpose Hall project that is about to be completed. She had also pressed on the state government for the renovation of the NYSC camp.
”She was a woman of peace and had brought peace in the management and the staff members of the scheme. She had been a motivator to corps members especially on skills acquisition and general counseling.
The entire corps members in Kogi will really miss her. Her last assignment was to present about six corps members for national presidential and honours award, and she celebrated with them in Abuja at the Presidency recently,” Tayo said.
Adamawa Coordinator of NYSC Malam Abubakar Mohammed has lauded corps members who served as ad-hoc staff during the General Election in the state for good conduct.
Mohammed, in a statement on Wednesday in Yola, said the 2,656 corps members that served as ad-hoc staff deserved commendation for exhibiting neutrality and coming out clean in the exercise.
Mohammed said the Director-General of NYSC, Maj.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, represented by the Deputy Director Human Resources, Mr Ahidjo Yahaya was in the state to monitor the election.
He said the visit was particularly to monitor the conduct of the corps members, adding that the conduct of the corps was highly impressed.
“The Director-General of NYSC, Maj.-Gen. Suleiman Zakari Kazaure and the entire staff of NYSC are impressed with the conduct of our patriotic corps members for doing a good job.
“I am very sure their parents and other loved ones are also happy with their general performance, characterised by neutrality and professionalism,“ he said.
The coordinator lauded the public for their support and cooperation to the corps members during the exercise.
“Our sincere gratitude goes to INEC, security agencies, politicians and the electorate for backing and cooperating with our corps members, before, during and after the elections.”
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Suleiman Kazaure, has debunked speculations of an increase in corps members’ monthly allowance, adding that an increment would only be done when there is a corresponding review of the proposed N30,000 national minimum wage.
The NYSC boss, who spoke to newsmen at MD Yusuf NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Mani Road, Katsina on Monday during his visit to the camp, assured corps members that the increment might be feasible in the future, adding that the lingering speculations were unfounded because the NYSC scheme is an affiliate of the public service.
He said:
“You know that NYSC is part of federal government parastatal, so we are still waiting for this minimum wage. I am sure when it is approved, it will definitely affect NYSC members.”
Speaking on the safety of corps members during the 2019 elections, Kazaure said the NYSC under his watch was working closely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ensure that the lives and property of NYSC members are protected during and after the general election.
Gen. Kazaure admonished the corps members to shun drug abuse, night party and other malpractices capable of truncating their future, stressing that they should remain neutral in the course of their national assignment in elections.
According to him,
“The management of NYSC frowns on the frequent travelling of corps members. Avoid night party, indecent dressing and be security conscious during your stay in the camp and your places of community assignment. You are going to be part of the 2019 general election, try and be neutral and obey the rules of the election.”
The Sokoto State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, represented by his Special Adviser on Youths Development, Ibrahim Khali Aminu, urged the corps members to shun cultism, politics as well as religious intolerance and other forms of anti-social behaviour.
Earlier, the state NYSC Coordinator, Hajiya Ramatu Sanda, lamented what she described as inadequate staff and hostel accommodation, calling on the NYSC management and the state government to assist the scheme in the state in order to assuage its plight.
She, however, said 1,507 corps members have been registered for the 2018 Batch ‘C’ stream II three-week orientation course in the state, stressing that the orientation programme is meant to acquaint them with relevant skill acquisitions that would make them self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.
According to the NYSC 1993 Bye-laws,
"Leaving the camp without permission of the State Director" will attract “extension of the service year by double the number of days for which the member was absent from his camp.”
Now our question;
"Did Davido Disobey NYSC Bye-laws By Leaving Camp For Boston Tour?"
Davido who few weeks ago became the latest and richest corps member have revealed why he registered for the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.
Social media was thrown into a frenzy recently after ‘OBO’ shared photos of himself in NYSC uniform after his registration at the Lagos NYSC camp on Tuesday.
The popular artiste earlier today, caused quite a stir at the Iyana-Ipaja orientation camp as he drove his white Mercedes Benz GLE 450 marked POLICE PF 413SPY into the camp.
The ‘OBO’ crooner, upon signing his oath of allegiance form, told newsmen at the NYSC camp that he registered for the scheme due to his strong passion for NYSC.
He also promised to adhere to camp rules and regulations.
He said:
“As a young age Nigerian, I would not want to miss the opportunity to be part of the service year.
“I registered for the scheme due to my strong passion for NYSC.”
A total of 2,152 corps members commenced the 2018 Batch B Stream Two orientation training exercise in the state.
The management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has said that though the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, applied for an Exemption Certificate, it would, however, investigate the origin of the purported one in question.
The Finance Minister has been linked with multiple forgery including an NYSC Exemption Certificate.
In a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations of NYSC, Mrs Adeyemi Adenike, the service however failed to confirm the authenticity of the certificate it issued the embattled minister.
Titled;
“Re-Exemption Certificate of the Hon Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun”,
the statement from the NYSC management read:
“Our attention has been drawn to the issue of the alleged forgery of an NYSC Exemption Certificate by the Honorable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.”
“Checking our records, Mrs. Adeosun did apply for an Exemption Certificate. We shall investigate the origin of the purported Exemption Certificate in question,” the statement read.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Bayelsa has inaugurated a centre for its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
It's reported that the centre is located at Okaka in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
Inaugurating the centre on Saturday, Mrs Loto Bolade, the NYSC Coordinator in the state, described skills acquisition as an important tool for economic growth.
Bolade pointed out that promoting skills acquisition was one of the objectives of the NYSC as enshrined in the Act mandating the scheme to “ enable Nigerian youths to acquire the spirit of self-reliance.’’
She expressed happiness that corps members had continued to benefit from the SAED programme with training to acquire skills in no fewer than 14 vocations.
“This NYSC Bayelsa SAED Centre is to provide a platform where corps members with various skills can assemble to train other youths.“The centre can also generate funds from its operations.
“I charge the Assistant Director/Head of SAED to mobilize serving corps members to make good use of the centre for the overall advantage of service corps and corps members,’’ she said.Mrs. Ogechi Mba, an Assistant Director and Head of SAED in Bayelsa, gave an assurance that the centre would be put to maximum use.
Mba explained that the centre would commence with fashion designing, shoe making, and event management units while others would be gradually introduced to cover the 14 skills selected.
Source
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, did not participate in the mandatory one-year national youth service scheme. Instead, she forged an exemption certificate many years after graduation.
The year-long service, organized by the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), is compulsory for all Nigerians who graduate from universities or equivalent institutions at less than 30 years of age.
In addition to being a requirement for government and private sector jobs in Nigeria, the enabling law prescribes punishment for anyone who absconds from the scheme or forges its certificates.
Eligible Nigerians who skipped the service are liable to be sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and/or N2,000 fine, according to Section 13 of the NYSC law.
Section 13 (3) of the law also prescribes three-year jail term or option of N5,000 fine for anyone who contravenes a provision of the law as Mrs Adeosun has done.
Subsection 4 of the same section also criminalizes giving false information or illegally obtaining the agency’s certificate. It provides for up to three-year jail term for such offenders.
Mrs Adeosun’s official credentials obtained by our source show that the minister parades a purported NYSC exemption certificate, which was issued in September 2009, granting her exemption from the mandatory service on account of age.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mrs Adeosun graduated from the Polytechnic of East London in 1989, at the age of 22. According to her curriculum vitae, Mrs Adeosun was born in March 1967.
The institution changed the name to University of East London in 1992. Mrs Adeosun has her certificate issued in the new name.
Having graduated at 22, it is obligatory for Mrs Adeosun to participate in the one-year national service, for her to qualify for any job in Nigeria.
However, at the time of her graduation, the young Folakemi Oguntomoju, as she then was, did not return to Nigeria to serve her fatherland.
Upon graduation in 1989, the Applied Economics graduate pursued fast-paced career in the British public and private sectors.
She first landed a job at British Telecoms, but left after a year to join Goodman Jones, an accounting and investment firm, as audit officer. She served there till 1993.
In 1994, Mrs Adeosun joined London Underground Company as Internal Audit Manager, before switching to Prism Consulting, a finance firm, where she worked between 1996 until 2000.
In 2000, Mrs Adeosun was hired by PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked for two years.
When she eventually returned to Nigeria in 2002, Mrs Adeosun still did not deem it necessary to participate in the NYSC scheme. She simply accepted a job offer at a private firm, Chapel Hill Denham.
However, ostensibly concerned that she might run into trouble for skipping the mandatory scheme, Mrs Adeosun, sometime in 2009, procured a fake exemption certificate.
The NYSC does not issue an exemption certificate to anyone who, like the minister, graduates before turning 30, top officials of the scheme familiar with the matter reported.
NYSC Headquarters
Mrs Adeosun’s ‘certificate’ is dated September 9, 2009, and was purportedly signed by Yusuf Bomoi, a former director-general of the corps.
Officials said Mr. Bomoi stepped down from the NYSC in January 2009, and could not have signed any certificate for the corps eight months after. The retired brigadier general passed on in September 2017.
ILLEGAL JOBS
Using that fake certificate, Mrs Adeosun went on to clinch high-profile jobs at Quo Vadis Partnerships (managing director), Ogun State Government (commissioner for finance), and Federal Government of Nigeria (minister of finance).
By the provision of Section 12 of the NYSC Act, employers must demand NYSC certificates from prospective employees. The law also mandates employees to present only genuine certificates for that purpose.
Section 12 of the Act reads:
“For the purposes of employment anywhere in the Federation and before employment, it shall be the duty of every prospective employer to demand and obtained from any person who claims to have obtained his first degree at the end of the academic year 1973-74 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent academic year the following:-
a. a copy of the Certificate of National Service of such person issued pursuant to section 11 of this Decree
b. a copy of any exemption certificate issued to such person pursuant to section 17 of this Decree
c. such other particulars relevant thereto as may be prescribed by or under this Decree.”
A lawyer, Sagir Gezawa, described jobs Mrs Adeosun has had in Nigeria as illegal.
“The combined effect of sections 12 and 13 of the NYSC Act is that it is illegal to hire a person who graduated but failed to make himself or herself available to serve, or falsify any document to the effect that he or she has served or exempted from serving.”
However, without demanding or verifying the veracity of the certificate presented by Mrs Adeosun, two Nigerian companies, the Ogun State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria employed her at various times.
On becoming governor in 2011, Ibikunle Amosun nominated her into his cabinet. She proceeded to serve as commissioner of finance for four years.
Gov. Ibikunle Amosun
In November 2015, Mrs Adeosun was sworn in as minister by President Muhammadu Buhari, and assigned the all-important finance ministry, after a supposed security and Senate screening.
The State Security Service, charged with vetting appointees to top government positions, failed to detect that her NYSC certificate was fake.
The Senate, which received the fake certificate as part of the documents Mrs Adeosun submitted for her confirmation hearing, detected the discrepancy.
But it nonetheless proceeded to clear her for the top office. Those familiar with the matter said the leadership of the National Assembly used that information to blackmail and extort Mrs Adeosun for years.
FAKE CERTIFICATE?
We investigated Mrs Adeosun’s so-called NYSC certificate for months, determining eventually that it is fake.
“This one is an Oluwole certificate,” a top official of the corps said after we showed him a copy of the document. “We did not issue it and we could not have issued it.” Oluwole is a location in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, where fraudsters possess an amazing dexterity in the act of forging all kinds of documents.
Several current and former officials of the scheme told this paper that the NYSC would never issue an exemption certificate to anyone who graduated before age 30 and did not fall into the categories of persons exempted by the corps’ enabling Act.
By that law, there are four categories of Nigerians eligible for exemption certificates. The first are those who graduated after turning 30. The second are holders of national honours. The third are persons who served in the armed forces or the police for up to nine months. The last category are staff of intelligence agencies, or the armed forces.
Therefore, having graduated at 22, and with no record of national honours or service in the intelligence or armed forces, Mrs Adeosun is not qualified for an exemption, officials said.
Yet, the so-called exemption certificate she holds gave age as the reason for her exemption.
“This is not the size of our exemption certificate,” another top official of the corps remarked when shown a copy of the minister’s ‘certificate’. “The calligraphy is also different”.
On another day, another staff questioned the genuineness of the ‘certificate’ based on the font of the serial number.
“Look at this, look at this other one, the numbering is different,” the staff said while comparing Mrs Adeosun’s certificate with a genuine one on file.
Mrs Adeosun’s name also failed to pop up during multiple checks of the exemption certificates registers kept by the corps, officials said.
One official, who perused the register recently, noted that the sequence of serial numbers for certificates issued in 2009 did not correspond to that in Mrs Adeosun’s purported certificate.
The signature on the ‘certificate’ is also suspect. As indicated earlier in this report, it was purportedly signed by an official who left the corps eight months before the document was made. One official described that claim as “barefaced lie and total impossibility”.
A TOOL FOR BLACKMAIL
It was reported Friday how the certificate scandal was turned into a tool for blackmail by a National Assembly cartel that used it to coerce the finance minister to keep releasing funds to the lawmaking arm.
Some federal lawmakers revealed to this paper that the discrepancy was detected by the Senate during the minister’s confirmation hearing. But rather than probe the issue, they turned it into a tool against Mrs Adeosun.
The report linked the certificate scandal to the minister’s excessive, even illegal, funding of the lawmakers, including recently funnelling a N10billion largesse to that arm of government.
Saraki Adeosun Dogara
MINISTER, NYSC WONT REACT
Although several of its officials informally cooperated with our reporters in the course of this investigation, the NYSC leadership declined to respond to our official correspondences.
We first sent a letter to Director-General Sule Kazaure (brigadier-general) requesting him to help determine the authenticity or otherwise of the minister’s ‘certificate’.
After we received no response for several weeks, we sent in a Freedom of Information request on the matter. Weeks after, we are still waiting for response.
Insiders say authorities of the corps have been under severe pressure in the past weeks not to respond to our inquiries.
One of our reporters also requested a reaction from Oluyinka Akintunde, the spokesperson to Mrs Adeosun, who was briefed on the outcome of our investigations. He is yet to send a response to our inquiry.
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