The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has confirmed that the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, applied for an exemption certificate.

Mrs Adeyemi Adenike, the NYSC Director of Press, said in a statement in Abuja on Monday, that the scheme would however, investigate the origin of the allegedly forged exemption certificate purportedly being used by the minister.

“Our attention has been drawn to the issue of the alleged forgery of an NYSC exemption certificate by the Honorable Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

“Checking our records, Mrs Adeosun did apply for an exemption certificate. We shall investigate the origin of the purported exemption certificate in question,” Adenike said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a media report published on July 7 had claimed that the minister did not only fail to participate in the mandatory one year national youth service but procured a fake exemption certificate in 2009.

The year-long service, organised by the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), is compulsory for all Nigerians who graduate from universities or equivalent institutions and are less than 30 years of age.

But NYSC did not state the year the minister applied for exemption, neither did it confirm whether she was issued one by the NYSC office when she applied.