Hannatu Musawa, the Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, has provided an explanation for her incomplete one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme that she initiated 22 years ago.Daily Trust reports.
According to the law, all Nigerians who graduate from a tertiary institution in Nigeria or abroad must participate in the NYSC for 12 months, with exemptions granted to individuals who are 30 years or older upon graduation, those who served in the armed forces or police for more than nine months, staff of Nigerian security organizations, and those awarded national honors.
However, Musawa, who reportedly began the program but did not complete it, is currently serving in Abuja, a situation that has drawn criticism from the NYSC.
Eddy Megwa, the Director of Public Relations for the NYSC, stated that Musawa’s ministerial appointment violated the NYSC Act since no corps member should accept any government appointment until their one-year service is completed.
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Megwa explained that Musawa was originally mobilized for the youth service in 2001 and started in Ebonyi State, where she had her orientation program, but later relocated to Kaduna State to continue the program. He stated that she absconded and did not complete the program when she arrived in Kaduna, and that the NYSC would examine the matter and take appropriate action.
However, in a statement she personally signed, Musawa stated that she began the NYSC program in 2001 but could not complete it due to family reasons. She further clarified that she had applied to be mobilized for national service again last year, and the NYSC had deployed her to serve in Abuja for the past 8 months before her appointment as a minister.
Musawa emphasized that there was no breach of any Nigerian law or constitution regarding her current position as a minister and her status as a serving corps member. She argued that neither the laws of Nigeria nor the NYSC Act stipulated that a serving corps member could not be appointed into political positions, and there were no legal or constitutional limitations. She asserted that her NYSC status, which would conclude in four months, would not hinder her performance as Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy.
Musawa had previously faced an NYSC-related setback when her nomination as the National Commissioner representing the North West on the board of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) was rejected in 2020 when former President Muhammadu Buhari nominated her.
