Not minding the controversy surrounding his National Youth Service Corps, NYSC which led to his disqualification in the just concluded All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship primaries, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu yesterday joined other cabinet members to attend the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting.
Presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, it held inside the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shittu had a fortnight ago, been disqualified from participating in the Oyo governorship primary.
He was disqualified for not taking part in the compulsory one year NYSC, scheme.
The former lawmaker and attorney general in Oyo State also failed to present any NYSC exemption certificate to the APC screening committee.
While disqualifying him, the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, had stated: “He (Shittu) admitted that he did not do the mandatory NYSC as provided for under the law and in his own judgment, his being a member of the House of Assembly in the state and now as a Minister of the Federal Republic, that these were enough sacrifices. But for us as a party we know that NYSC is a mandatory scheme.
“It is not something you may elect to do or abstain from doing and my understanding of the NYSC Act is that no employer of labour is permitted to employ anyone who graduated under 30 years and who did not obtain an exemption for reasons as provided for in the NYSC Act.
“So, for us, not participating in the NYSC raises very serious moral issue as well as legal issue.”
The APC National Chairman said the party has to learn from past experience after being convinced that the Minister did not participate in the compulsory one year service.
He said, “We were convinced that if he did not do NYSC, that for us, was enough to disqualify him and we had to find the courage to do so.”
Shittu was said to have arrived yesterday’s meeting, his first after his disqualification, around 10.56 a.m.
He exchanged pleasantries with his colleagues before taking his seat after which Buhari called for rendition of the opening National anthem around 11.08a.m.
Opening Muslims prayer was said by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed , while the Christian prayer was offered by the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu.
Recall that the immediate past Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, resigned from the cabinet due to fake NYSC exemption certificate she presented to get the job.
Her ignorance of the status of the certificate she had presented could not save her from losing her seat in the cabinet.
