Adeosun was elected during the annual general meeting and 25th anniversary of AFREXIMBANK in Abuja. The embattled minister will be succeeding the outgoing chairman of the Bank and Minister of Finance of the Republic of Rwanda, Ndagijimana Uzziel. Adeosun will be holding this position on a one-year period. Adeosun’s “fake” NYSC certificate , an online investigative and news website, had accused Adeosun of parading a fake NYSC certificate after failing to serve upon her graduation from the University of East London at age 22. Although Adeosun is yet to respond to the allegation, the NYSC said the Finance Minister did apply for an exemption in 2019. But former NYSC DG retired General Maharazu Tsiga, says Adeosun was not entitled to an exemption certificate having graduated from the university before hitting 30.<doc-sep>Olaleye Aluko and Ifeanyi Onuba The National Youth Service Corps has said it is investigating a “purported exemption certificate” which was allegedly obtained by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. The NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs Adeyemi Adenike, stated this on Monday, while reacting to media reports (not The PUNCH) that the finance minister allegedly forged an Exemption Certificate which was also cleared by the National Assembly during her screening. READ ALSO: Obasanjo ambushes Soyinka on Olumo Rock The NYSC’s spokesperson, Adeyemi, said in a statement that the scheme could confirm that the finance minster indeed applied for an Exemption Certificate. Adeyemi said, “Our attention has been drawn to the issue of the alleged forgery of an NYSC Exemption Certificate by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. Checking our records, Mrs Adeosun did apply for an Exemption Certificate. We shall investigate the origin of the purported Exemption Certificate in question. Thank you.” However, a civil society organisation, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, has called on the finance minister, Adeosun, to respond to the allegations of certificate forgery levelled against her or resign from office. CACOL, in a release on Monday by its Chairman, Mr Debo Adeniran, said the centre called on President Muhammadu Buhari to “immediately wade into this matter by suspending Mrs Kemi Adeosun from her position as the Minister of Finance in order to allow full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the forgery allegation.” Adeniran said, “What should not be encouraged, under any guise, is a reign of impunity as the country steers towards consolidation of its democratic culture. The minister was reported to have approved fictitious budget heads on several occasions. If this is found to be true, it is not only criminal, but a clear violation of fiscal discipline and accountability. “The nation is presently facing a lot of challenges which require the present administration’s undivided attention, ranging from Fulani herdsmen-farmers’ crisis to banditry, social dislocation and economic crunch and cannot therefore afford to be bogged down by any distractions arising from the recklessness of any public official. “Our current situation as a nation demands that public officers serving the current government should be seen to be above board in implementing the administration’s Change Agenda. Public officers are also compulsorily required to demonstrate transparency, responsibility and accountability in steering the ship of state. “It is in this regard that we call on the President to immediately wade into this matter by suspending Mrs Kemi Adeosun from her position as the Minister of Finance to allow full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the forgery allegation and misappropriation of funds under her Ministry. This is necessary to reinforce public confidence and send a clear signal that no criminal conduct would be tolerated by this government.” READ ALSO: NLC shuts MTN offices, to picket other telcos Attempts to get comments from the minister were not successful as calls and a text message sent to his Media Adviser, Oluyinka Akintunde, were not responded to as of 5.30pm when this report was being filed on Monday. Adeosun had come under fire with several Nigerians, particularly on the social media, demanding investigations from the Federal Government into the allegations and calling for her resignation for presenting an alleged forged excemption certificate. The reports claimed that the finance minister, who did not participate in the one-year national youth service, allegedly forged an Exemption Certificate several years after her graduation. The certificate, which is dated September 2009, was reportedly signed by an NYSC Director-General, Yusuf Bomoi, who already left the scheme in January 2009. In November 2015, Adeosun was appointed as Minister of Finance under President Muhammadu Buhari after she had been cleared by the Department of State Services and by the Senate. Both the security and legislature, which ought to have looked closely at ministerial appointees’ certificates, records and profiles, allegedly failed to detect any fault in the NYSC Exemption Certificate presented by Adeosun. As public outcry continues to greet the allegedly forged NYSC certificate by the finance minister, the NYSC said on Monday that it had begun its own investigations to unravel the source of the purported Exemption Certificate, said to have been obtained by the finance minister. ”Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: [email protected]<doc-sep>
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced that Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, "did apply" for a certificate of exemption. However, in the confusing confirmation, issued in reaction to an investigation by Premium Times exposing how Adeosun allegedly forged an exemption certificate, Adeyemi Adenike, Director, Press and Public Relations of the Corps, also promised to investigate the origin of the "puported exemption certificate". “Our attention has been drawn to the issue of the alleged forgery of an NYSC Exemption Certificate by the Honorable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun,” read Adenike’s statement. “Checking our records, Mrs. Adeosun did apply for an Exemption Certificate. “We shall investigate the origin of the purported Exemption Certificate in question. Thank you.” The Premium Times story had shown that the certificate was among the set of documents submitted by the Minister for her appointment and screening in 2015. The newspaper first wrote to the NYSC on April 16, 2018 requesting verification of the certificate. After weeks of silence and promises, the paper’s editors decided to re-channel the request through a Freedom of Information request. This followed disappointment suffered by journalists working on the story when the formal letter that was to be issued on June 1 by the organisation was suddenly withheld. The newspaper’s reporter who was at the NYSC headquarters on Thursday, May 31, was told to come back the next day to pick up the organisation’s response, following intense checks that afternoon that confirmed that “Folakemi Adeosun” was not in the register. However, on arriving on Friday, June 1 to pick the response, a new decision was announced: the NYSC officials said the verification had been channelled to the organisation’s ICT unit to check its “electronic database”. The organisation then became curiously non-response to the newspaper’s request.