By ‘Dotun Akintomide
Contrary to claims made by the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, Friday, to stay afloat his current travails, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has stated that holding political offices is not equivalent to the one year compulsory youth service for eligible graduates in Nigeria.
The rebuff follows a claim made by the Minister where he justified his non-participation in the one year mandatory scheme for all Nigerian graduates.
Shittu had on Friday boasted that he deliberately did not participate in the youth service upon his graduation due to his election into the Oyo State House of Assembly in 1979 which, according, to him was already a service to the country.
“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.
“I don’t think I have violated the law except someone has a superior argument and can prove it,” the minister said.
However, the NYSC spokesperson, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, when contacted on Friday in Abuja, over the claim, stated that holding political positions does not exempt anyone from partaking in the compulsory youth service, Saturday Tribune reported.
According to her, both local and foreign graduates who are under the age of 30 are mandated by the NYSC Act to undergo youth service.
While quoting from the Act itself, the NYSC official said; “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.
“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.”
In line with this, she maintained that serving in the National or State Assembly is not one of the conditions stated in the Act.
“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.
“It is not your age today; it is your age as of the date of graduation. That is what decides who is mobilised and exempted from service. If you come into the country even if you are above 30 but under 30 as of the date you graduated with your first degree, as the case maybe, then you must serve. So, it is not the date you came to Nigeria but the date you graduated and as long as you are under 30, you are expected to serve.
“Locally trained graduates are mobilised from their institutions. The student affairs offices from all institutions locally submit the list of all eligible graduates and they are mobilised to serve. Those who are legally exempted are also exempted, so foreign graduates are expected to present themselves for service.”
