Temitope Ajayi, a media aide to President Bola Tinubu, has said that National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member Ushie ‘Raye’ Uguamaye, who called the president a “terrible” leader, should be punished according to NYSC regulations.
Ms. Uguamaye, who is currently serving in Lagos, recently posted a TikTok video expressing frustration over the rising cost of living in Nigeria and blamed the president for the hardship.
Ms. Uguamaye, in her viral TikTok video, lamented the increasing cost of food and other essentials.
“I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again,” she said. “It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase?”
She added, “If a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking about what we are going through, maybe changes will be made in the government.
“I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you (Tinubu). But you (Tinubu) are such a terrible president.”
Ajayi, displeased with the corps member’s comments, took to Facebook on Monday to justify his call for severe punishment.
“If she is not a corper, she can say whatever she fancies like people do per second. Citizens can abuse a living day out of their President or any public official. It is normal,” he wrote.
“But a corper violated her oath and code of conduct here. That is capital punishment under NYSC.”
He further stated, “You can’t abuse the country you are serving as a corper under any guise and the symbol of sovereign authority, which is the president. She should be punished to the fullest extent, not just warned.”
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has come to Ms. Uguamaye’s defence, arguing that her statements do not violate the NYSC Act or its bye-laws.
“Criticising the president or the government is not an offence under the NYSC Act (See Section 13). It is also not an offence under the NYSC Bye-Laws (See Section 4 of the Revised Bye-Laws, 2011),” Effiong stated.
“I have watched all the videos of this lady that are being debated. There is nothing slightly partisan in her comments,” he added.
According to Effiong, Uguamaye was merely expressing “justified frustrations with the state of affairs in the country, particularly the impact of the scourging inflation.”
“That is within her constitutional right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” he explained.
Amnesty International, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi have condemned attempts to silence critics of the government, including Uguamaye.
Ajayi addressed what he called his “twisted comment on the corps member” in a statement released on Monday.
“It has become imperative to dispel the misrepresentation and patent mischief that has trailed my comment on a Facebook post,” he began.
“I suggested that flagrant and open abuse and disregard of NYSC by-laws and established protocol should attract the full NYSC disciplinary measures, particularly regarding a corps member’s recent display of imprudence.
“It is trite to say the maximum punishment under the NYSC protocol is expulsion; nothing beyond the established norms and laws is suggested or remotely implied.
“The NYSC scheme is a historic and treasured national programme that should not be sullied and ridiculed by indiscipline. It symbolises our triumph over division and consistent effort to forge a more potent and virile union.
“Most importantly, we should abide by our old cherished values of dignity, discipline, and respect for one another as citizens.”
