How Ondo Minister-designate BTO was exonerated of NYSC Certificate forgery

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has confirmed the authenticity of its certificate presented before the Nigerian Senate for screening by one of President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominees, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

In its response to PREMIUM TIMES, the organisation said Mr Tunji-Ojo’s certificate is genuine, noting that the nominee was first mobilised in 2006 but “absconded from the service.”

NYSC said Mr Tunji-Ojo only later resurfaced in 2018 and was remobilised in 2019 and deployed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in Garki, Abuja, as his place of primary assignment.

The organisation, however, said Mr Tunji-Ojo’s certificate was omitted when others were printed in 2020.

“During the passing out, his Certificate of National Service was not available because it was omitted in the Certificate Printing Application,” the NYSC said.

“He (Mr Tunji-Ojo) applied for his Certificate of National Service through the State Coordinator FCT on 18th October 2022, and the State Coordinator forwarded the same to the Headquarters and his Certificate of National Service No. A004523631 was produced on 28th February 2023 for collection.”

Re: Ondo Ministerial Nomineee and his NYSC certificate

I owe it a duty not just to my integrity but for the purpose of record and clarity that borders on the future.

I have taken my time alongside members of my groups and organisation to go out of my way to verify the controversies surrounding the discrepancy in his (BTO) record.

It is significant to note that we wrote to the NYCS, ICPC and the National Assembly and the following discoveries were made.

1. Bunmi Ojo was a student at the Obafemi Awolowo University and left in his part three. He didn’t graduate from there and travelled abroad.
2. He was a student at the London Metropolitan University and graduated from there and returned to the country for NYSC mobilization.
3. He was mobilised with the batch B of 2006 for youth service and was in the NYSC camp in, Kubwa, Abuja where he participated in the activities of the camp for the three weeks he was on camp and was the captain of the football team of his platoon.
4. Returning to Abuja from home in Ondo State after the three weeks camp, he was involved in an accident where only him and one other survived the incident.
5. He received treatment at Monak and Shekinah hospitals in Akure (anyone can verify his medical records from these hospital as we did) from where he was flown abroad for treatment and hence did not complete his NYSC mandatory service year.
6. In 2018, he wrote to the NYSC to the effect of his non completion of his service year though he received two months allowance while on the hospital bed from the Federal government and sought clarification on what to do.
7. NYSC wrote to him to refund the money he received without work and then re apply for RE MOBILISATION.
8. He did refund the money to NYSC through a Zenith bank teller sighted and then re applied for Re Mobilisation.
9. In 2019 when he was already a member of the National Assembly, he wrote to the clerk of the National Assembly then to seek clarifications and he was responded to that in 1985 when the NYSC law was made, it was a decree and not captured in the law then that National Assembky members are exempted from youth service and hence can serve. (copies of the correspondences were sighted)
10. In 2020, while serving in the National Assembly, he was remobilised but that was the year of Covid where clearance was done personally by him for nine months out of the 11 months required. He missed two of such clearances by the virtue of committee engagement in the house of representatives.
11. He failed to collect his certificate and applied for same in 2022 for which he was told that his certificate was not printed alongside his mates because he was not in camp where his biometric should have been taken hence his not been captured for certificate printing and had to again apply for biometrics to be taken since everything is now digital and portal based.
12. He applied and his biometrics was captured hence the printing of his certificate as dated in February 2023 which he personally received from the NYSC headquarters and signed for.

This much were findings made and anyone can stand up to it as we have done.

The FOI bill enables anyone to request these facts from the NYSC.

These were made in good faith and for the purpose of clarity and records.

BTO is wished well.

Signed by Ayodeji Ologun for the coalition of civil society groups