On Thursday, it was revealed that
Adebayo Shittu, minister of communications, failed to participate in the
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
According to Premium Times,
Shittu skipped the compulsory programme after graduating from the University of
Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU), though he finished school below the
required minimum age of 30.
Upon graduation from the Nigerian
Law School, Lagos, in 1979, he was elected a member of the Oyo state house of
assembly at the age of 26.
Interestingly, the minister, a
lawyer, defended his action. He had told the newspaper that he did not need to
participate in the scheme since he had been elected lawmaker.
“The constitution provides for
the qualification needed for state assembly members, NYSC is not there. I
didn’t need it to become a member of the state assembly, and that is already a
service,” he was quoted as saying.
He restated this on Friday, while
addressing reporters at the national secretariat of the All Progressives
Congress (APC).
“I left in 1978 and left law
school in 1979 and the constitution says anyone who qualifies to contest an
election or who has gone through an election and wins, he is obligated to move
through the house of assembly which I did for four years, so it is a form of
higher service as far as I’m concerned and even now, I am still in service,” he
said.
CLAIM ONE: NYSC LAW CONTRADICTS 1979 CONSTITUTION
According to Shittu, “The 1979
Constitution of Nigeria says anybody who qualifies to contest election and wins
gets running and occuppies the position for which he contested for.
“Then the NYSC Law 1973, before
the constitution came, says that anybody who finishes must serve for one year.
At the time the NYSC law was made, it never anticipated a situation where
somebody who is still in school and about to graduate will contest election and
whether NYSC is required to contest the election or not.
“With the two laws, to me, the
constitution, which says if you’re elected and you win, you will go and serve
the nation in the assembly – state or national, is supreme.
“When I have won election, that
election supersedes the NYSC because the constitution is superior to any other
law. So, the constitution is superior to the NYSC Law of 1973.”
While it is true that the 1979
constitution (which was in force at the time Shittu graduated from school) did
not identify an NYSC certificate to be one of such requirements, it recognises
the NYSC act and there is no conflict whatsoever.
Section 274(5) of that
constitution states: “Nothing in this Constitution shall invalidate the
following enactments, that is to say – (a) the National Youth Service Corps
Decree 1973; (b) the Public Complaints Decree 1975; (c) the National Security
Organisation Decree 1976; (d) the Land Use Decree 1978, and the provisions of
those enactments shall continue to apply and have full effect in accordance
with their tenor and to the like extent as any other provisions forming part of
this Constitution and shall not be altered or repealed except in accordance
with the provisions of section 9 (2) of this Constitution.”
This is with regards to Section
12 of the NYSC act which makes participation in the scheme a prerequisite for
being employed in the country.
The section states thus: “(I) 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 Act; (b)
a copy of any exemption certificate issued to such person pursuant to section
17 of this Act; and (c) such other particulars relevant thereto as may be
prescribed by or under this Act.”
Apparently, Shittu chose to
interprete the part of the constitution that supports his claim, without
considering the part that gives credence to an existing law — the NYSC act.
CLAIM TWO: MEMBERSHIP OF STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY EQUALS NATIONAL YOUTH
SERVICE
The NYSC has come out to say
holding political offices does not equate to or replace the one year compulsory
youth service for eligible graduates in Nigeria.
Adenike Adeyemi, NYSC
spokesperson, quoting from the NYSC act, explained that the minister does not
fall into any of the set of people exempted from the programme.
The only exemption, according to
the act, are those who graduated after the age of 30, persons with national
honours and individuals who serve in the military and intelligence organisations.
“Notwithstanding the provisions
of Sub-section 1 of this section, with effect from 1st of August, 1985, a
person shall not be called upon to serve in the service corps if at the date of
his graduation or obtaining his diploma or other professional qualifications
(a) he is over the age of thirty or (b) he has served in the armed forces of
the federation or the Nigerian Police Force for a period of more than nine
months,” Adeyemi was quoted to have said.
“…or he is a member of staff of
the Nigerian Security Organisation, State Security Service, National
Intelligence Agency, Defence Intelligence Agency or has been conferred with any
national honour.”
“Serving in the National (or
state) Assembly is not one of them but then if you have been conferred with any
national honour, in addition to other things in the Act, then it (NYSC) will
let you know if you are exempted from the national service.
“You have read the Act and you
can see the circumstances where someone is exempted, you analyse it if he
[Shittu] was exempted duly or there is a reason why he should have served. But
the Act is very straightforward on the grounds for not coming up to serve.
“If you are a graduate locally
trained or foreign trained, as long as you graduate before the age of 30, you
are expected to serve.
“Whether foreign or locally
trained, the law is the same. Our youths should be rightly guided that if you
were able to complete your studies and as of the date of graduation, you are
under 30, you are eligible to serve.”
CONCLUSION: Shittu lied on both claims.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com