By Nurat Uthman
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has urged the judiciary to thwart efforts by politicians to undermine the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
This plea was made during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, citing concerns over an increasing trend of certificate forgery by public office holders and the potential destruction of the NYSC as a reputable public institution.
The organisation called attention to the integrity of the NYSC, a scheme established in 1973 to promote national unity, which has withstood political pressure over its 50-year existence.
Comrade Halima Ibrahim, National Treasurer of CLO, who read the text of the press briefing before journalists, said: “Over the years, the NYSC has demonstrated exemplary courage and fairness in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities, and, has in all cases, refused to be cowed by the barbaric intimidations of politicians.
“However, there is an emerging dangerous trend that needs to be nipped in the bud before it destroys the NYSC as a public institution of repute. This trend has to do with the increasing cases of certificate forgery by some politicians and ruling elites in Nigeria.
“The CLO is concerned and dismayed that some public office holders in the country who occupy offices of public trust are involved in forgery of public documents including educational results and the NYSC discharge certificate.
“More worrisome is the fact that some of these individuals who are quite powerful are challenging anyone including the courts who dare to question their nefarious actions.
“In some cases, these individuals end up being aided by some agents of other institutions of the state to undermine investigations in pending cases. Many of these cases are yet to be resolved but remain quite troubling.”
Highlighting past incidents, the CLO pointed to instances where the NYSC and patriotic Nigerians resisted the intimidation from powerful individuals.
In 2018, a serving cabinet minister was pressured to quit the Federal Executive Council (FEC) after failing to present a genuine NYSC discharge certificate. A similar fate befell a nominee for the Board of PENCOM in 2019.
Similarly, two contemporary cases were mentioned: one involving the current Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Peter Mbah, and the other, a serving Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ms. Hannatu Musawa.
Ms. Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, is currently under scrutiny for serving as a minister while still a member of the NYSC.
The CLO called for her immediate resignation and urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw her appointment if she fails to do so.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mbah continues to wield an NYSC certificate that the NYSC has declared as not issued by them.
The CLO condemned his attempts to undermine the NYSC through orchestrated judicial onslaughts and media campaigns.
“No one is above the law,” stated Igho Akeregha, President of CLO.
He urged the judiciary to act decisively in these instances and preserve the integrity of the NYSC scheme.
The organisation warned that failure to deliver justice in such cases would spell the end of the NYSC.
The CLO called for vigilance from Nigerians and appealing to the judiciary to protect the NYSC from desperate politicians.
They reiterated their belief in the importance of strong institutions over strong individuals.
“It is our contention that Nigeria needs strong institutions and not strong individuals,” the CLO stated.
