Kemi Adeosun: I Could Have Stayed as Minister but Chose to Fight Allegations in Court

Former Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, has broken her silence on the controversy that led to her resignation, saying she stepped down not because she admitted wrongdoing but because she believed staying on would disrespect the office she held.

In an interview on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels TV, Adeosun shared the full story behind the NYSC exemption certificate allegations that engulfed her tenure.

“And I didn’t resign because I felt I had done anything wrong. I need to state that absolutely clearly,” Adeosun said.

“I resigned because I felt and still feel that the swell of controversy around a minister of finance was such that if I continued, I was disrespecting the office.”

The allegations, she explained, centered on claims that she had graduated at 22, skipped the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and therefore presented a forged exemption certificate. Adeosun acknowledged that she did graduate at 22 but stressed the context.

“Yes, I graduated at 22. Absolutely correct. But I graduated at 22 in England as a British citizen living and working in England,” she said.

“At the time I graduated, I had been to Nigeria once. And that once, I got a visa in my British passport. Why? Not because I didn’t want to be a Nigerian, but because the constitution of Nigeria forbade dual citizenship.”

She recounted how, as a British citizen, she had to obtain visas for every visit to Nigeria and was thus not under Nigerian law obligations, including NYSC service.

“So where is the obligation to serve? I wasn’t covered by Nigerian law. I wasn’t a Nigerian citizen.”

Adeosun became a Nigerian citizen in 1999 at the age of 32, moving permanently to Nigeria by 35 — past the age for NYSC service.

She said this explanation was understood within government circles and was met with sympathy from the highest offices.

“So, you know, so you’ve gone past the age. So in government, this was understood and being, you know, everyone was like, yeah, don’t mind them, don’t mind them,” she said. Yet, despite this, silence from institutions extended for three months amid a growing media storm.

“And then I kind of, what’s the word, as they say, you know, woke up and smelt the coffee. Whoa, hold on a minute, something’s going on here. It shouldn’t take three months to check immigration records and see that this person came in on visas,” she explained.

Adeosun described how she was left with a difficult choice: continue as Minister while facing unresolved public doubts or step aside and seek legal clarity.

“I knew that, look, the only way I’m going to clarify this is to go to court. And I felt you can’t be minister of finance, representing your nation, going to the World Bank, signing treaties one day. And the next day you’re in court on a matter of integrity.”

She emphasized the need to protect the dignity of the Finance Ministry, describing it as “a very high office and it’s a very sensitive office. You don’t desecrate the office with your own personal matter.”

Adeosun also revealed that she was pressured to issue a statement that would have closed the matter quickly but was not truthful.

“I read the statement. And that day I knew, Kemi, you’re gone. Because I knew I wasn’t going to issue it. Because it wasn’t true.”

Reflecting on the political fallout, she admitted that as Finance Minister—and previously as Commissioner of Finance—she had made powerful enemies.

“If your Minister of Finance is loved by everybody, they’re probably not doing much of a job, right? So I’m not confused by the fact that I had stepped on toes. Powerful toes.”

“I’m not confused about the fact that I had powerful enemies. Who, I believe, saw an opportunity. Say, look, let’s get rid of her. Let’s get rid of her.”

On the day of her resignation, she personally informed President Muhammadu Buhari of her decision and her intention to clear her name through the courts. “And I remember the day I resigned. I went to go and see Mr President. And I said, Mr President, I need to go. But I need to take, I need to go to court because I have to clear my name.”

The president reportedly expressed support, reminding her of the legacy they must protect.

“He said, ‘I absolutely support you. Because these names are leased from our children and our grandchildren. They’re going to inherit them. And then you destroy your name because you wanted to stay as minister for what?'”

Adeosun further explained the legal basis for her case hinged on the Nigerian Constitution of 1979, which at the relevant time did not recognize her as a Nigerian citizen and thus exempted her from NYSC obligations.

“The only people that could have clarified this issue as to whether I was exempt or not, by virtue of the constitution, was government,” she said. “You sue the chief law officer, who’s the attorney general. The attorney general then coordinates the various agencies to bring their own position.”

Summing up, Adeosun affirmed, “The 1979 constitution made it very clear. This woman is not or was not at the material time a Nigerian. And the constitution, of course, is the highest law. So once the constitution says you’re not a Nigerian, then you’re not subject to Nigerian laws.”

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