Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday waded into the controversy surrounding the alleged withholding of a National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate from Ushie Rita Uguamaye, a corps member who publicly criticised economic hardship in the country.
Atiku, who described the situation as “unacceptable” and potentially politically motivated, said it was wrong to punish a citizen for exercising her right to free expression.
He urged the authorities to act swiftly to resolve the matter, warning that such incidents undermine public trust in national institutions.
Atiku wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “What manner of impunity is this? Everything should not be subjected to politics.
“I hope that Ushie Rita Uguamaye’s NYSC discharge certificate is not being withheld because she had the courage to complain about the economic hardship under the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
“It is unacceptable that the young lady, who had served her country without queries, should not have received her National Youth Service Corps certificate one year after passing out.
“The appropriate authorities should take urgent steps to ensure that she gets her discharge certificate.”
Ushie, popularly known as Raye, had completed her one-year mandatory service in Lagos State.
She gained public attention months ago after a viral video in which she lamented rising living costs and economic difficulties facing Nigerians.
On Saturday, she took to Instagram to reveal that she was denied her NYSC certificate when she went to collect it alongside her colleagues.
She said officials claimed she failed to do her April clearance on the scheduled date, a claim she strongly refuted.
According to her, she had presented herself for clearance but was repeatedly told by her Local Government Inspector to wait.
Raye alleged that the LGI later refused to clear her, seized her file, and asked her to leave the office.
She said in the vlog, “I did not get my NYSC certificate today after one year of serving this country.
“I literally went there with my cohort, or should I say the people we served together, and when it got to my turn, they said no certificate for you.”
Raye rejected the NYSC’s explanation, insisting she had shown up for clearance but was deliberately denied by her Local Government Inspector, who, she alleged, seized her file.
She also revealed in an accompanying caption that, ”After one year of moving to another man’s land, to serve my country, ended with no certificate and telling me to come for final verdict that we already know how it’ll end.
“I genuinely wish I wasn’t a Lagos state Corper because it’s a waste of my time. I can’t say moving here was bad but serving here isn’t all pleasure.
“Just to add to it, they said the reason I’m not getting my certificate is because I didn’t clear myself for the month of April on my scheduled date.
“But what they aren’t saying is how I was present to get cleared, yet the LGI kept asking me to go to the back, and when she finally wanted to attend to me, she said she wouldn’t clear me.
“She seized my file and told me to get out. This is a long story, and I don’t mind waking up at midnight to tell the story.
“The deep-rooted anger I feel and hatred is crazy because I don’t know who to direct it to.
“But I wish myself the best. And I’m closing this chapter.”
The NYSC discharge certificate is issued to Nigerian graduates who successfully complete the one-year national service.
As of the time of filing this report, the NYSC board had yet to respond to the allegations.
