A media aide of President Bola Tinubu, Temitope Ajayi, says the corps member who called his principal a “terrible” leader deserves to be executed.
The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the president who was displeased with Ushie Uguamaye’s post called for her head Via a Facebook post on Monday,.
According to Ajayi, “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,” Mr Ajayi stated on Facebook on Monday. “But a corper violated her oath and code of conduct here. That is capital punishment under NYSC.”
He added, “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.”
In the meantime, a rights activist Omoyele Sowore disclosed that Local Government Inspectors (LGI) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) absconded when he accompanied a corps member, Ushie Uguamaye, to face them for criticising President Bola Tinubu.
It had earlier been reported that Uguamaye, also known as Raye, shared a video on TikTok criticizing Tinubu for the economic hardship Nigerians are facing.
She also shared another video alleging that she was threatened and summoned by a NYSC official for the video criticising Tinubu.
Raye was on Monday accompanied by Sowore and three lawyers to meet with the LGIs to clear herself amid talks that her video may have contravened the Bye Laws of the NYSC.
According to Sowore on X, the LGIs were nowhere to be found when they arrived at their office.
He said, “We arrived Eti-Osa LGI offices of the @officialnyscng with youth Corper, Ushie Rita uguamaye in Lagos. She is was scheduled to appear before the LGI today and we escorted her to their offices with attorneys. @mrfestusogun, @yinka_oyesomi and @justiceojienoh but LGI official had absconded failing to show up throughout our stay.”
A message from the NYSC Local Government Inspector (LGI), had instructed Rita, with code number LA/24B/832, to report to the Eti Osa 3 local government office by 10 a.m. on Monday without fail.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) summoned the corps member serving in Lagos State, following her viral social media post criticising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Meanwhile, Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, has come to the defence of the corps member.
“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),” stated the lawyer.
Mr Effiong added, “I have watched all the videos of this lady that are being debated. There is nothing slightly partisan in her comments.”
The rights lawyer noted that Ms Uguamaye “merely expressed her justified frustrations with the state of affairs in the country, particularly the impact of the scourging” inflation on her and other Nigerians.
“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),” Mr Effiong explained.
Amnesty International, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have condemned attempts to silence critics of the incumbent president, including intimidation of Ms Uguamaye.
“I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again,” Ms Uguamaye had said in a TikTok video. “It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase?”
“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 (Mr Tinubu). But you (Mr Tinubu) are such a terrible president,” added Ms Uguamaye.
Also, following the alleged threats and intimidation against her Amnesty International and other Nigerians condemned alleged attacks.
In a statement posted on X on Sunday, the human rights organisation noted that Uguamaye was well within her rights to express her frustration over the country’s worsening economic conditions and condemned in strong terms the reported threats from NYSC officials against the Corp Member.
“It is perfectly within her right to express discontent peacefully. Instead of threatening her for her opinions on rampant inflation, the authorities should prioritise addressing the country’s economic woes,” Amnesty International said in the statement.
The aggrieved Youth Corp Member. had lamented how the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme has been less beneficial to her, having had to spend more than the allowance she receives.
“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 just want to say to our president, I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you, but you are such a terrible president.
“So, I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again. It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase? Is there going to be a particular time when prices will stop going up? Why am I going to get a crate of eggs and I’m told it costs N6,500? It doesn’t make any sense that eggs would cost that much. I literally remember when eggs cost N800. I am so overwhelmed because this is the first time I’ve stayed out of my family house.
“After I left the supermarket, I got home, and the security and NEPA bills have skyrocketed, doubling in price. It is insane. I can’t keep up with these bills. Every single penny I make, I am using it to pay bills. The crazy thing is, you want to go out with your friend, and Uber is N25,000. Why are things so expensive?
“To make it worse, Lagos stinks. Everywhere smells. What is the government doing about the smell? Being an NYSC Corper, there is nothing so beneficial about this scheme. The money I spend on transportation is much more than the allowance the federal government pays us. We should start calling out the government.”
Uguamaye alleged that shortly after the video went viral, she began receiving threats, purportedly from NYSC officials, pressuring her to delete the content.
She then took to Instagram to express fears for her safety, saying that her personal details had been leaked and she was being pressured to report to the NYSC office.
“Dear Nigerians, I am already getting threatened by the NYSC Board to stop speaking on this issue. Less than 24 hours, I’m already getting threatened by the government, starting with the NYSC Board,” she said.
Amnesty International’s statement also accused the Nigerian authorities of attempting to silence dissenting voices rather than addressing citizens’ economic grievances.
The group said Nigerian authorities must stop responding with violence and threats to individuals and groups who express dissenting opinions.
“Holding and voicing dissenting views is not a crime,” the statement added.
The controversy has sparked a national debate on free speech and the role of the NYSC in suppressing public criticism.
Many Nigerians have taken to social media to demand accountability, with the hashtag #ProtectRaye gaining traction
Reacting to the alleged threat, on his X handle, skit maker, Mr. Macaroni warned NYSC management against intimidating the female corps member.
He wrote: “To the DG, Coordinators and every official of the NYSC!!! You cannot threaten, intimidate or victimize any corper for expressing their view on the performance of the president. They are citizens with rights! The president is in office to serve the people and every Nigerian, Corper or not has the right to hold their Leaders accountable!!!”
Also, publisher and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Sowore said the corps member stated a fact, not an insult. He added that NYSC was no longer serving its purpose.
“Saying that Bola Tinubu is a terrible person/’president’ is not an insult; it is a statement of fact. NYSC has outlived its usefulness, if it was ever helpful at all, considering its deceptive origin and outright corrupt nature,” he wrote on his X.
