You can’t be NYSC member, minister same time, HURIWA tells Hannatu Musawa

A pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has condemned the Senate for asking Hannatu Musawa, to ‘bow and go’ during her screening as a ministerial nominee.

This, it said, was done despite currently being a youth corps member under the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC).

HURIWA alleged that the inaugurated Minister of Arts is actually a serving member of the NYSC somewhere in Wuse 2 Abuja in the current year (2023).

Musawa was the last nominee to show up for the Senate’s screening during plenary session.

HURIWA described as despicable what was a routine with the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate, in which the then ministerial nominee was asked to “take a bow and go” without being asked any questions about her academic qualifications, including the controversy surrounding her NYSC certificate.

HURIWA recalled that in 2020, the Ahmed Lawan-led 9th session of the Senate rejected Musawa’s nomination by former President Muhammadu Buhari as the Commissioner representing the North West at the National Pension Commission (PENCOM).

Her failure to submit her National Youth Service (NYSC) certificate was cited as reason for the rejection.

While it is compulsory for every Nigerian graduate to take part in the National Youths Service Corps for one year, graduates who are above 30 years are exempted from the national service.

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Section 13 of the National Youths Service Corps Act stipulates that any Nigerian graduate below 30 who refuses to make themselves available for the compulsory one-year service has committed an offence “and liable on conviction to a fine of N4,OOO or to imprisonment for a term of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.”

HURIWA recalled too that a former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, was forced to resign from President Buhari’s government after an online newspaper reported that she forged the NYSC exemption certificate used in securing her appointment as minister.

The group also condemned Musawa for her alleged display of illegality by spraying crispy N1,000 notes to some local Hausa musicians at an event in which she was reportedly being celebrated over her appointment as minister.

It therefore asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to order her investigation and possible arrest and prosecution for breaching the extant law prohibiting such abuse of the national currency of Nigeria.

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HURIWA also challenged the NYSC to compel the minister to choose between completing her engagement as a corper under the national service scheme or disengage from being a corper and then focus on her new task as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It wondered why the correct status of Musawa was not made known to the members of the public before the Senate sensationally failed to screen her as it should.

HURIWA wondered the kind of scrutiny being conducted by the Department of State Services so much so that it was not disclosed that the minister is actually a youth corper.

The Rights group alleged that years back, Musawa abandoned her NYSC in Ebonyi State but later showed interest to complete it in which she was mobilised this year and posted to a law firm in Abuja before President Tinubu picked her as a ministerial nominee.