The National Youth Service Corps has been issued a seven-day ultimatum to compensate Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State over unsubstantiated allegations of forgery.
A group of 500 civil society organizations, under the aegis of Civic Room, gave this ultimatum in a press statement on Thursday.
The CSOs also asked the NYSC leadership to tender an apology to the Enugu governor on or before the stipulated period.
Grace Adesola, the Executive Director of Civic Room, warned that failure to do so will attract both a lawsuit and massive protests at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja.
Recall that the NYSC DG, Brig Gen Yusha’u Ahmed, had alleged that it never issued a discharge certificate to Governor Mbah.
The governor subsequently obtained a court order barring the NYSC from further disclaiming his certificate.
He sued the NYSC for N20 billion at the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged conspiracy, deceit, and misrepresentation of facts.
However, despite the court order, the NYSC DG engaged the media to again disclaim the certificate, denying knowledge of the lawsuit and consequent court order, acting in clear contempt of the court.
And Adesola said the NYSC leadership must be taught a lesson not to meddle in politics
She said the Scheme has become compromised that it is now a tool in the hands of the elites against perceived rivals.
Adesola added that the intention was to stop Governor Mbah’s inauguration, thereby thwarting democracy and the people’s will.
She, however, said that the plot failed woefully and the NYSC must compensate and apologize to the governor for attempting to sabotage his victory and malign his personality.
“We have carefully followed the mischievous plot by the NYSC leadership to thwart our democracy by making a ridiculous claim about Governor Peter Mbah,” Adesola said.
“As critical stakeholders with an incredible penchant for facts, we refrained from making comments as we wanted to investigate the true position of things.
“From our findings, we discovered that the NYSC DG was being manipulated to dance to the tune of some politicians. What a shame! A once revered institution has now become a subject of ridicule and a tool for politicians.
“Thankfully, Mbah has been sworn in and has already hit the ground running. He is focused on fulfilling promises he made to his people and is not bothered by the NYSC and its gimmicks.
“However, we won’t let sleeping dogs lie. We believe every government institution should be held accountable for its failures and praised for its successes. It is on this note that we are demanding that the NYSC leadership compensate Mbah.
“They must also tender an apology to the gentleman in any of the national dailies. These should be done in the next seven days else the NYSC would witness massive protests for the next week at its headquarters.
“We are also by this notice warning the NYSC to refrain from further campaigns of calumny against Mbah, his administration, and the good people of Enugu State. “