The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has dismissed the grounds on which Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu refused to participate in the compulsory programme.
Shittu, who graduated at 25 in 1978, was elected into the Oyo State House of Assembly in 1979 aged 26.
He described his election into the state assembly as a form of “service” to the nation, adding that he did not deem it necessary to still embark on national youth service.
But the spokesperson of the NYSC, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, was quoted by Tribune as faulting the minister’s claim, saying that holding political office does not exempt any eligible graduate from the scheme.
She described the reason given by the minister as alien to the NYSC Act, stating that reasons for exemption from the scheme were clearly stipulated in the Act.
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Quoting from section 2 of the NYSC Act, Adeyemi 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.”
She added, “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.”