Politics
Adeosun’s Resignation: Frills, Thrills And Questions

The resignation of the estranged Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, last Friday, has expectedly raised a lot of dust in Nigeria’s polity. So much have been said, so many inferences, insinuations and accusations, some of which could pass-on as selfishly motivated.
Beyond this, however, the issue of a government official resigning from office as a result of matters relating to malfeasance is to a large extent alien to Nigeria. That the official in question is the Minister of Finance, who, by Nigerian standard, must be the “right-hand” person of the Chief Executive, in this case Mr. President, makes it the more too good to be true. This is because the President, by Nigerian standard, has enough powers to make his wish come true.
Among the numerous inferences, insinuations and accusations, a couple stands out, both in the context of who made them, as well as the manifest and latent contents therein, especially in the light of what genuinely concerned Nigerians seek in those who lead them.
There were calls for Adeosun’s prosecution from all corners on charges of forgery in accordance with the dictates of the NYSC Act. Expectedly, top of the calls came from people who are pro Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the key opposition political party.
Contrarily, to Professor Itse Sagay, Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), the Minister should not be sacked because ‘she’s damn good’.
“There is nothing in this world that will make me remove such a woman (if he was President) from the government. The PDP can weep from now until there is no tear in their body; she is going to be there. We cannot afford to lose that woman.
“Who cares about youth service? I don’t bloody care whether she did youth service or not. It’s irrelevant as far as I am concerned”, Professor Sagay was quoted by “Pulse”, an online newspaper on the 10th of August, 2018.
In her resignation letter to the President, Adeosun explained that she did not know and was not in a position to decipher the authenticity of the NYSC certificate issued her haven been born and bred in Britain till she was 34 years, based on the findings of Premium Times.
According to her, upon enquiry as to my status relating to NYSC, I was informed that due to my residency history and having exceeded the age of 30, I was exempted from the requirement to serve. Until recent events, that remained my understanding.
“On the basis of that advice and with the guidance and assistance of those I thought were trusted associates, NYSC were approached for documentary proof of status. I then received the certificate in question. Having never worked in NYSC, visited the premises, been privy to or familiar with their operations, I had no reason to suspect that the certificate was anything but genuine.
“Indeed, I presented that certificate at the 2011 Ogun State House of Assembly and in 2015 for Directorate of State Services (DSS) Clearance as well as to the National Assembly for screening. Be that as it may, as someone totally committed to a culture of probity and accountability I have decided to resign with effect from Friday, 14th September, 2018,” she said.
Considering that what genuinely concerned Nigerians feel about the whole saga is hinged on the stance of the incumbent administration on corruption, the attention given the issue is understandable and seen to be guided by two salient questions: How did we get here? What is the way forward?
The whole issue started when, in July, Premium Times, an online news medium, broke the news that the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, “did not participate in the mandatory one-year national youth service scheme. Instead, she forged an exemption certificate years after graduation”.
For clarity sake, the year-long service is organized by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and is made compulsory for all Nigerians who graduate from universities, or equivalent institutions before attaining 30 years of age. It is a key requirement for jobs in Nigeria, both in the public and private sectors.
Consequently, there is an enabling law to enforce it, which not only prescribes punishment for anyone who absconds from the scheme, but also forges its certificate.
The implication is that Nigerians who skip the service will not be employed in Nigeria, and will be liable to 12 months prison sentence and/or #2,000 fines, in accordance with Section 13 of the NYSC law. Also, Section 13(3) of the law prescribes 3-year jail term or an option of #5,000 fines for anyone who contravenes provisions of the law as Adeosun did.
Section 13(4) of the law also criminalises giving false information, or illegally obtaining the agency’s certificate and provides for 3-year jail term for such offenders.
The crux of the matter, as revealed by Premium Times, is that the estranged Finance Minister graduated at 22 years from the “Polytechnic of East London” in 1989, but did not come back home to participate in the one-year service, even after returning to Nigeria in 2002. She rather accepted a job offer at a private firm, “Chapel Hill Denham”. Moreover, her certificate bears “University of East London”, the name the institution change to in 1992
She finally got an “Exemption Letter” from the NYSC in 2009, dated September 9 precisely, and purportedly signed by Yusuf Bomoi, a former Director-General of the NYSC.
According to Premium Times, officials of NYSC said the retired Brigadier General, who died in September 2017, could not have signed any certificate for the corps eight months after his retirement in January 2009.
Using the purported fake NYSC certificate, Mrs. Adeosun worked for two private Nigerian companies and was appointed Commissioner by the Ogun State Government before becoming the Finance Minister.
Section 12 of the NYSC Act states that: “For the purposes of employment anywhere in the federation and before employment, it shall be the duty of every prospective employer to demand and obtain 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 there to as may be prescribed by or under this Decree.”
The import of the above 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. Herein lays the bone of contention.
What this means in essence is that while Mrs Adeosun’s qualification and capability is not in doubt, she and her employees in Nigeria are guilty of illegality. But, as has become normal in Nigerian politics, the issue at stake was given various interpretations, in the same way her resignation last Friday was.
Taken from the context of President Mohammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption, this issue is one which for a long time will be weighed by the standard set in tackling issues relating to corruption.
It will be recalled that on assumption of office in 2015, President Buhari was quoted by various media to have zero tolerance for corruption. According to him, “Corruption is a hydra-headed monster and a cankerworm that undermines the fabric of all societies. It does not differentiate between developed and developing countries. It constitutes a serious threat to good governance, rule of law, peace and security, as well as development programmes aimed at tackling poverty and economic backwardness,” hence “it must be fought on all fronts”.
The key question that readily begs for answer is whether the law in Nigeria is a respecter of person. If not, as far as the NYSC Act is concerned, the two companies, Ogun State Government and the Federal Government that hired Adeosun’s services should share in the illegality of the issue. It is therefore not enough for Adesoun to just resign, as honourable as such action may be, even as it was belated in her case.
Anything less than bringing all the parties involved in the illegality will not only put a huge question in the President Buhari’s popular saying that he “stands for nobody, and for everybody”, but will also confirm what many Nigerians feel, that the declaration is a sham.
Daily Trust newspaper summarised this in its August 28, 2018 edition when it stated: “Although personal integrity, self-respect and respect for the law are no longer a requirement for high office in Nigeria, the truth is that Adeosun’s position is untenable. The excuse that the Exemption Certificate was obtained on her behalf simply doesn’t hold water. The scandal is a stain on the reputation of an administration which came to office brandishing integrity”.
The implication is that everybody involved in this high level forgery, from the erstwhile Minister, to those she stated as “trusted associates” and whoever has employed her, has a question to answer because, one way or another, they have desecrated the Rule of Law in Nigeria.
Soibi Max-Alalibo
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar

A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
Politics
Tinubu’s Contribution To Buhari’s Presidency Marginal – Ex-SGF

For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Politics
Your Lies Chasing Investors From Nigeria, Omokri Slams Obi
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.