Nigeria's Finance Minister May Face Imprisonment As She Parade Forged NYSC Exemption Certificate.

Information gathered has revealed that the Nigeria Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun, did not participate in the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. 

A source however, revealed
that she forged an exemption certificate many years after graduation, as confirmed  by Premium Times.

The year-long service, organised 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.

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 provision of the law.

Subsection 4 of the same section also criminalises 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 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.

Mrs Adeosun graduated from the Polytechnic of East London in 1989, at the age of 22 as stated in her curriculum vitae, and she was born in March 1967.

The institution changed 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 was known then, did not return to Nigeria to serve her fatherland.

She first offered a job at British Telecoms, but left after a year to join Goodman Jones, an accounting and investment firm, as audit officer where she served 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 was said to have obtained a fake exemption certificate in 1992.

The NYSC does not issue exemption certificate to anyone who, like the minister graduates before turning 30, as gathered.

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 certicate for the corps eight months after. 

The retired brigadier general passed on in September 2017.