Former Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun has disclosed that her September 2018 departure from President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet was motivated by a desire to safeguard the dignity of her ministerial position.
Speaking Friday on Channels Television’s Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, Adeosun addressed lingering questions about her resignation amid controversy over her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption status.
“People kept asking why I resigned. Many wondered why anyone would step down from such a position,” Adeosun said. “I still believe it was the correct decision.”
She emphasized that her departure reflected personal principles rather than any acknowledgment of misconduct. The former minister explained that she couldn’t simultaneously represent Nigeria at high-level meetings while defending her integrity in court proceedings.
“My resignation was about principle, not guilt,” she stated. “It was necessary to protect the Office of the Minister of Finance while clearing my name. I couldn’t attend local and international engagements as finance minister while appearing in court on matters touching my reputation.”
Adeosun recalled her final meeting with President Buhari: “I told Mr. President I needed to leave to pursue legal vindication. He supported my decision to clear my name through the courts.”
She added a philosophical note about legacy: “Our names are borrowed from future generations. You don’t tarnish your reputation just to cling to a ministerial appointment.”
In July 2021, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that Adeosun had been ineligible for NYSC participation. Justice Taiwo Taiwo determined that under the 1979 Constitution—which governed when she graduated from the University of East London in 1989 at age 22—she wasn’t a Nigerian citizen and therefore couldn’t participate in the mandatory service program.
Critically, the court also ruled that Adeosun’s ministerial appointment was neither illegal nor unconstitutional, as the constitution doesn’t require NYSC certification for ministerial positions. The judgment noted that Nigeria’s 1979 Constitution didn’t recognize dual citizenship, making Adeosun ineligible for NYSC as a British citizen, and by the time her Nigerian citizenship was restored under current law, she exceeded the age limit for participation.
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