“No law prohibits corps member from becoming a minister” – Minister of Culture and Arts, Hannatu Musawa counters NYSC

Minister of Art, Culture & Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has responded to the controversy surrounding her appointment while serving as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The NYSC had raised concerns about her alleged breach of its act, which stipulates that a corps member must complete their one-year service before accepting any government appointment.

In her statement, Hannatu Musawa firmly stated that she had not violated any laws.

She emphasized that neither the existing laws of Nigeria nor the NYSC Act explicitly prohibit the appointment of a corps member to a political office before completing their service year.

She clarified that there were no legal or constitutional constraints preventing her from assuming her current position as a Minister while still a serving corps member.

Addressing inaccuracies in media reports, Hannatu Musawa also corrected the record regarding her NYSC posting.

She stated that she had been posted to Akwa Ibom, contrary to the information provided by an NYSC spokesperson, which had indicated Ebonyi as her posting location.

She stressed that her appointment had been made within the boundaries of the law and reaffirmed that she had not violated any regulations.

In her words;

“I will like to state clearly that contrary to wrong insinuations and false assumptions in a section of the mainstream media and social media where false accusations have been made, there is no breach of any law or constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended regarding my current position as a Minister and status as serving Corp member.

“It must be said that there is no law of Nigeria or any part of the our constitution and NYSC Act that states that a serving Corp member can not be appointed by the President of Nigeria or any other appointing authority into political positions. Equally, no part of our existing laws and NYSC Act says that a corps member must finish service before he/she can be appointed into political office. There is no legal and constitutional limitations whatsoever. I have not broken any law of Nigeria.”