NYSC certificate: Adebayo Shittu drags APC to court over disqualification

The Minister for Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has sued the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) at the Federal High Court, Abuja for disqualifying him from contesting for the governorship of Oyo State under its platform, on account of not presenting the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

The APC screening committee in October disqualified Shittu for not undergoing the compulsory one-year NYSC programme.

Shittu, who did not deny his non-participation in NYSC programme, said, he did not take part in the mandatory national service because he considered his election into the Western House of Assembly a national service and faulted the NYSC for not mobilising him for the scheme.

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However, NYSC spokesperson, Adenike Adeyemi, reacting to Shittu’s claim, said that an elective office did not suffice for the obligatory national service is incorrect.

“Serving in the National (or state) Assembly is not one of them (conditions for exemption from national service), Adeyemi said.”

Also, those conferred with national honours before graduation are also exempted from the scheme.

But Shittu had insisted that it was wrong for APC to disqualify him from the governorship primary election in Oyo State for not presenting NYSC discharge certificate.

While Shittu urged the court to declare that the submission and presentation of NYSC discharge certificate to APC is not part of the requirements for him to participate in the primary election for the nomination of governorship candidate of the party in Oyo State for the 2019 General Election, he insisted that his disqualification was politically motivated.