Why I didn't participate in NYSC scheme Shittu

MINISTER of Communication, Mr Ade¬bayo Shittu, has described the recent narration over his inability to observe the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme as chasing shadows. He said the 1979 Constitution exempted him from serving the country due to his electoral victory as a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly between 1979 and 1983. Shittu won the election into the House of Assembly at the age of 25, while he was still a student of the then the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo Univer¬sity) on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). An online medium, Premium Times, which reported the “fake NYSC” story that eventually led to the resignation of former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, broke the story of Shittu on Thursday evening. But the minister, speaking with the Nigerian Tribune not TheNigerialawyer through the telephone, said “the story is not new. I do say it in my inter¬views that I went straight to the House of Assembly from the university. They are chasing shadows.” He said the 1979 Constitution, which, according to him, superseded the NYSC Act of 1973, was clear on the matter. According to him, “the 1979 Constitution of Nigeria says anybody who qualifies to contest election and wins gets running and occu¬pies the position for which he contested for. “Then the NYSC Law 1973, before the constitution came, says that anybody who finishes must serve for one year. At the time the NYSC law was made, it never anticipated a situation where somebody who is still in school and about to graduate will contest election and whether NYSC is required to contest the election or not. “With the two laws, to me, the constitution, which says if you’re elected and you win, you will go and serve the nation in the assembly – state or national, is supreme. “When I have won election, that election super-sedes the NYSC because the constitution is superior to any other law. So, the con¬stitution is superior to the NYSC Law of 1973. “Unfortunately, at the time the NYSC was being introduced, it didn’t anticipate the situation I was in 1979. My service, rather than being on the field in NYSC, was in the House of Assembly. That position remains until the court makes a contrary pronouncement. “Let me also add that in 1979 when I won the election, my opponent, a mem¬ber of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), called Mr Bada, filed an ac¬tion in the High Court at Oyo on the basis that I was not qualified to contest elec¬tion, having not served in the NYSC and the court dis¬missed the action. “So, my position is with the constitution which is superior to any law, including the NYSC decree. For any¬body to change that position you have to go to court. Un¬til the court says contrary, that is the position of the law and my position.” When asked if there was any certification to the effect, Shittu said he did not seek for anything like that because he had already served according to the provision of the constitution. His words, “I didn’t seek for anything. I didn’t apply because I had served the country for four years in the House of Assembly instead of just one year in the NYSC. “You could also compare that to the fact that anybody who served in the military or attended military institution is automatically excluded from the NYSC. And so I re¬membered Chief Niyi Akin¬tola’s case when he came to work within my chambers in 1984 because he had attended a military school, he was automatically exempt¬ed from the NYSC.” On Thursday, Premium Times had reported that the minister failed to participate in the NYSC scheme, despite– graduating from university at the age of 25. The online media reported that “revelation about Mr Shittu, who is currently angling to become Oyo State governor, is coming to light about a week after Kemi Ad¬eosun was compelled to step down from her post as Nigeria’s finance minister, after this medium reported that she skipped national service and then procured a fake ex¬emption certificate to cover her tracks.” ]]>