The Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has been accused of not having a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate by a human rights group.
However, the NYSC management has confirmed that the minister is a serving corps member and has not completed her mandatory service.
The Director of Press and Public Relations at NYSC, Mr. Eddy Megwa, told the Cable that the minister is still serving and has not violated any law.
He said that the minister was deployed to Abuja for her primary assignment and that she had been reporting to the NYSC headquarters regularly.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), had earlier raised the alarm that Musawa did not have an NYSC certificate and that she was not eligible to be a minister.
The group claimed that the minister graduated from the University of Abuja in 2019 and that she had not participated in the NYSC scheme as required by the constitution.
HURIWA claimed that the culture minister is a member of NYSC, whose place of primary assignment is a law firm in Abuja.
The rights group asked the management of the NYSC to compel Musawa to focus on her national youth service or the ministerial appointment.
“HURIWA wondered why the correct status of Musawa wasn’t made known to the members of the public before the senate sensationally failed to screen her as it should,” the statement reads.
“HURIWA wonders about the kind of scrutiny being conducted by the Department of State Services so much so that it wasn’t 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 in completing it.
The organisation added that the minister was mobilised this year and got posted to a law firm in Abuja before President Tinubu picked her as a nominee.
“She was confirmed by the senate without proper screening and sworn in by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as minister of arts, “HURIWA further alleged.
BACKGROUND
In September 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Musawa as a national commissioner representing the north-west geopolitical zone on the national pension commission board.
But the senate in October of the same year rejected her nomination over a report from the committee on establishment and public service matters that Musawa failed to provide her NYSC certificate or exemption letter.
An NYSC certificate or exemption letter is a mandatory requirement for those seeking public offices on the basis of election or appointment.
When the culture minister appeared before the senate during the ministerial screening, the lawmakers did not ask her any questions regarding her NYSC certificate.
Musawa was among the 45-ministers that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated on Monday after confirmation by the Senate.
The minister has not responded to the allegations by HURIWA as of the time of filing this report.
The controversy surrounding Musawa’s NYSC certificate is the latest in a series of scandals involving Nigerian ministers. In recent months, several ministers have been accused of corruption, abuse of office, and other wrongdoing.
The allegations against Musawa have raised questions about the integrity of the Nigerian government and the quality of its ministers.
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