My attention has been drawn to some media reports following my brief appearance earlier this morning on Channels TV regarding the ongoing reforms of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), particularly on the issue of the proposed uniform.
For the avoidance of doubt, yes, I mentioned Adire during the discussion. I also mentioned Ankara. My intention was simply to cite examples of some of the proposals that have been put forward in the course of our consultations. It was not an announcement that any particular fabric has been adopted or approved to replace the current NYSC uniform.
For the record, what we are considering are different options that tick all the right boxes in terms of professional outlook, a unique national identity, durability, functionality, cost-effectiveness, and the projection of national pride. No final decision has been taken on the fabric or design.
As with every aspect of the ongoing NYSC reforms, any eventual decision will be guided by extensive stakeholder engagement and what best serves the interests of the Scheme and the nation.
I respectfully urge Nigerians to continue to engage with the ongoing NYSC reform conversation based on its broader objectives and the immense benefits it holds for our young people and our country. The reforms are designed to make the Scheme more relevant to today's realities by improving employability, promoting entrepreneurship, strengthening national integration, enhancing service delivery, and creating a smoother transition from education to productive careers.
While conversations around the uniform are understandable, they should not overshadow the far-reaching reforms aimed at empowering millions of Nigerian youths and positioning the NYSC as a stronger platform for national development.
I appreciate the constructive feedback and assure Nigerians that every proposal will continue to be carefully considered in the best interest of the nation.
I just read the statement issued by Bayo Onanuga on behalf of the Presidency, which supposedly trying to put a defence for the Chief of staff, Gbajabiamila.
However, I think the Presidency's statement was clearly intended to shut down public scrutiny. Ironically, it has achieved the exact opposite. It answered some questions, but in doing so, it exposed even bigger ones.
Let us assume, for a moment, that every allegation against Prince Adeyemi is true. Even then, the statement leaves glaring gaps that no amount of rhetoric can paper over.
You are asking Nigerians to believe that one private citizen woke up one morning, invented a presidential agency, forged his own appointment, secured office space inside the Federal Secretariat, recruited staff, held meetings with diplomats, corresponded with government institutions, allegedly opened a CBN account through official channels, and if the official budget documents are anything to go by, the same "non-existent" agency found its way into the Appropriation Act with an allocation running into billions.
If that is truly what happened, then this is no longer just the story of an alleged fraudster. It is also the story of spectacular institutional failure. Either government systems were astonishingly easy to deceive, or there are questions that still have not been answered.
The statement conveniently glosses over the budget issue. That silence is deafening.
How does a fictitious agency appear in the national budget? Budget allocations do not descend from heaven. They pass through ministries, the Budget Office, executive review and legislative approval. Who introduced the line item? Who processed it? Who signed off on it? Who failed to ask whether the agency even existed?
Those are not political questions. They are governance questions.
Then there is the issue of the Federal Secretariat office. Offices inside government complexes are not roadside kiosks. How was the space obtained? Under whose authority? How long did it operate? Who interacted with the occupants? Who looked the other way?
Again, silence.
Then comes the most curious part of the story.
The Presidency says the very person allegedly identified as the link between Adeyemi and the purported appointment, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, had died in a hotel fire just five days before Adeyemi's arrest.
That is an extraordinary detail. Yet we are given almost nothing beyond it.
Was there an autopsy? Was there a coroner's inquest? What did investigators conclude about the fire? Were his electronic devices, communications and financial records examined? If he was central enough to be named in the statement, why is the public expected not to ask what became of the investigation into his death?
These are not conspiracy theories. They are the obvious questions any serious investigator would ask.
The Presidency wants Nigerians to focus exclusively on whether Adeyemi is an impostor. Fair enough. The courts will determine that.
But the Presidency cannot ask the public to ignore the conduct of government institutions in the same breath.
This is bigger than one man.
If the council was fake, explain how it entered the budget.
If the appointment was forged, explain how government systems repeatedly interacted with the supposed beneficiary.
If official channels were deceived, explain where the safeguards failed.
If there was no insider involvement, show the documentary trail that proves it.
Accountability does not begin and end with charging one individual. It also requires explaining how the machinery of government appeared to validate, accommodate or fail to detect what is now described as a complete fabrication.
The public deserves more than a carefully written press statement. It deserves answers backed by records, timelines and evidence.
Until those answers are provided, this matter is far from settled.
*Barr. Solomon Dalung*
Ex Minister of Youths & Sports
@Imranmuhdz Hitting $30 billion as an African is no small feat. He bet on Africa when others doubted it. He didn’t just chase wealth, he built the backbone of African industry.
That’s real legacy building.
Bulama Bukarti has given a thorough breakdown of how the newly proposed tax reform bill will drag the northern side of the country to its knees. No one has explained it any better. If this bill becomes a law, we are totally gone as a region. Forewarned is to be forewarned.
You date other African women or white lady and you'll collect gifts every month. She is looking forward to your birthday to spend on you. She is always happy to cook and do something for you because making you happy makes her happy. If she is living with you, she splits the bill into two so you're not burdened with bills. She has the mentality that working adults should pay their bills while you both plan your future. All these comes with 100% respect and submission.
But you'll be in 9ja dating somebody that demands monthly allowance to date you, sees cooking for you as slavery unless you pay, want you to pay her rent and your own, wants tounpaying for transport to come and see you, pay for all her basic needs if younwant the relationship to survive. All celebratory days like birthdays, anniversary and valentine have you spending money to make her happy. Even your birthday, you have to spend.
But you will swear you're in love. Ode. There has to be an incurable level of madness to call what most of you are doing, a relationship
We were kidnapped on our way to Enugu for a convention @Nigerian_Doctor there are requesting for 50 million for 20 of us medical students please help us and we haven't eaten for two days
08163420157- pius that is who we are gathering the money with
You can’t even say the Lawyer is lying because this is exactly what court officials do. You don’t pay, they don’t get your job done. They hold the system by the neck and use it to enrich themselves. These are issues the NBA needs to be prioritizing.
He has never claimed to be rich. There is no case about where he lives. He is not ashamed of his reality. That is a positive.
As for the miracle water. He is the one that should be suing. The pastor is the one who committed fraud.