This Adebayo Shittu NYSC thing doesn’t seem as straightforward as it first seemed o. Here’s what we know so far:
1. It seems pretty clear he didn’t do NYSC
2. It seems he doesn’t deny it.
3. It seems he won an election into the State of Assembly while he was still a student.
4. He seems to claim the 1979 Constitution says anybody that wins an election must take up the post immediately. He did. The 1979 needs checking.
5. He seems to claim there is a court order where the court interpreted his 4 years in the House of Assembly as “national service.”
5. He seems to claim that the court interpreted it to mean he did NOT need to do the NYSC. It will be good to read the court order. Question: Did he present the court order for screening, or DSS/ NASS didn’t ask any questions about NYSC? It should become clearer soon.
Still reflecting on this Adebayo Shittu NYSC business, actually, the reference to the 1979 Constitutions and a court order that nobody seems to be able to sight seem to be red herrings o. The more I reflect on it, the more I think he may have been improperly appointed.
You see, being elected into the State House of Assembly is effectively getting a job. Now, if you were elected as a student like he said he was, then you are not a graduate of a university, polytechnic or college of education, then you are not yet caught by the NYSC Act, 1973.
Therefore, any challenge to your election as a student on the basis that you didn’t do NYSC would fail. The court is likely to consider your status as at the time you won the election. However, any job you get AFTER you graduated will require you to have done the mandatory NYSC.
My worry remains: Where is the ruling that equated 4 years in the State House of Assembly to “national service”? Being a legislator is not one of the exemptions recognized by the NYSC Act. As at the time he was appointed Minister, the NYSC Act was referenced by the Constitution.
I ask the question again: Did a copy of the judgment form part of the documents for his screening or was his NYSC certificate never demanded by DSS/NASS? Can a court order of 1979 override a Constitution of 20 years later? The 1999 Constitution & the NYSC Act doesn’t exempt him.
If the 1979 Constitution was superior to the NYSC decree of 1973, as affirmed by an alleged court order, the 1999 Constitution was superior (being more recent in time) than everything else. The NYSC decree had become an Act by 1999, referenced by the 1999 Constitution.
The exemption claimed was not recognized by either the 1999 Constitution or the NYSC Act. A court order of 1979 cannot override the 1999 Constitution. The law changed! E be me like say his appointment as Minister, without an NYSC Certificate or an exemption, get k-leg o. End!
By Dr. Joe Abah | Twitter
Still reflecting on this Adebayo Shittu NYSC business, actually the reference to the 1979 Constitutions and a court order than nobody seems to be able to sight seem to be red herrings o. The more I reflect on it, the more I think he may have been improperly appointed. Thread… https://t.co/ppV8when6a
— Dr. Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) September 21, 2018
