Tinubu’s minister, Hannatu Musawa dragged to court over NYSC
Hannatu Musawa, the Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, has been taken to court over her appointment to President Bola Tinubu’s government.
Some activists didn’t like that Musawa was made a minister while he was still in the National Youth Service Corps, or NYSC.
Deji Adeyanju of Concerned Nigerians and Chief Patrick Eholor are two of the organizers who started the suit.
Both of the organizers said that Musawa’s appointment as a minister was against the law.
Recently, some Nigerians attacked Musawa for being named a federal minister while she was doing her required NYSC.
Adeyanju said in a statement, “We want to let the public and Concerned Nigeria know that three veteran activists, including Deji Adeyanju, Chief Patrick Eholor, and Concerned Nigerians, have filed a lawsuit against the illegal appointment of Hannatu Musawa as a federal minister.
“Comrade Deji Adeyanju and Chief Dr. Patrick Osagie Eholor sued Mrs. Hanatu Musawa over her appointment as federal minister while she is still a corps member, even though her claimed membership in the All Progressives Congress is clear to everyone.
“The lawsuit was filed at the Abuja division of the Federal High Court as suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1198/2023. It names the president of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation, and Hannatu Musawa as parties. It was filed by Abuja-based human rights lawyer Samuel Ihensekhien Jnr on behalf of Deji Adeyanju and Chief, Dr. Patrick Eholor.”
Barrister Samuel Ihensekhien, a lawyer for Adeyanju and Eholor, said this about the suit:
“It is now very clear, thanks to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Modibbo v. Usman case in 2019, that a member of the Youth Corps is not allowed to run for office in Nigeria or get involved in party politics, like Mrs. Hanatu Musawa in this case. In the same way, someone like Mrs. Hanatu, who is now a federal minister in Nigeria but hasn’t done the mandatory one-year youth service, isn’t qualified to be a minister in Nigeria because the Constitution says that the same qualifications and disqualifications apply to both election to the House of Representatives and appointment as a minister.
In this case, the lawsuit asks for five different types of relief and other required injunctions.
Eddy Megwa, who is in charge of press and public relations for the NYSC, said that the minister has been working in the FCT for the past eight months.
He told them that it was against the NYSC act for corps members to take government jobs before their year of service was up.
