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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
An advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), is pushing for the arrest and prosecution of former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, for alleged perjury over her claims around her participation in the one-year National Youth Service Corps.
The group’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement yesterday, also sought the disqualification of Oduah as Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for the Anambra North Senatorial Election in 2023.
HURIWA also tackled the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) for opposing the NYSC Trust Fund (Establishment) Bill recently passed by the National Assembly that imposed a levy of one per cent of the net profit of companies and organised private sector operating a business in Nigeria, amongst others.
Recall that the NYSC had said the Senator representing Anambra North District in the National Assembly “after the (three weeks) orientation course, absconded and never completed the national service. The consequence of this is that she is not qualified for the issuance of the certificate of national service,” the Service added.
However, Oduah had debunked the claim, stressing that she completed her national youth service.
Citing a letter dated 11th January, 2017, Oduah stated that she served under NECA in 1982. Oduah had also allegedly made false claims on October 23, 2014, when she deposed to an affidavit that she lost the original copy of her NYSC certificate, contrary to NYSC statement that she absconded in 1982.
Reacting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “We condemned NECA for opposing setting up of NYSC Trust Fund that is meant to create skills for youths and demand to know if the association is being sponsored by Senator Stella Oduah,whom NECA has been defending since her certificate saga despite overwhelming evidence from NYSC that the former minister never completed her NYSC but absconded.
“NECA should stop doing the bidding of Oduah, who boasted to deal with NYSC for exposing her alleged perjury. An organisation like NECA should not be politicised by moneybags for economic porridge of a few allegedly greedy and corrupt individuals. The President, Muhammadu Buhari, should ignore NECA’s opposition and assent to the NYSC Trust Fund Bill already passed by the National Assembly. This fund when established will cement President Muhammadu Buhari’s name in the sands of times.”
HURIWA said there is abundance of evidence already presented to the National Assembly by reputable Nigerians and organisations including the NYSC’S Management, CSOs, youth associations amongst a plethora of other stakeholders that the Trust Fund is being set up to address infrastructural deficit besetting the scheme in the areas of camp renovation, maintenance; upgrading, building and maintenance of corps members lodges.
