Former Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun was not asked to resign by the Presidency, a top official close to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has said.
Another top National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) official confirmed that indeed an investigation was conducted and the report circulated in the Presidency and few other top offices in the Federal Government.
According to official sources, weeks after she was accused of using an allegedly forged NYSC exemption letter, Mrs Adeosun resigned of her own volition having had a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari where she communicated her decision. Adeosun, reportedly narrated the story to a few Government officials at the time.
The sources affirmed that the former chairman of the Board of African Export–Import Bank (AfreximBank) was not coerced, forced or asked to resign under any guise by anyone.
“It is not true that she was forced to resign. Or that it was when she was told of a report was what twisted her hands. Mr. Dele Ogun’s account on a recent ARISE TV show is quite misleading if it is read that anyone in the Presidency forced her to leave. What actually happened was that she tendered her resignation after meeting with President Buhari.”
The sources at the SGF said “the choice to resign was totally her decision, because she wanted a decent exit that preserved her reputation after being lured into the whole saga by otherwise trusted mentors who then later exposed the whole thing, although she never knew anything beforehand.”
Reacting to the claim by Dele Ogun, the brother of Mrs Adeosun that she was told that there was an investigation into the matter, the top NYSC official said that there was indeed an investigation to the matter.
“If there was no investigation, then why did NYSC issue a statement at the time that she indeed applied for an exemption certificate? It was because an investigation was carried out that we were able to ascertain this fact.
“I think her brother’s claim is misleading and even false because it was not up to the Vice President or his office to make the call. Since when has the Vice President of Nigeria or his office have the powers to ask ministers to resign?” The source quizzed.
After the investigation was done, a report was communicated to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by NYSC. This report is not a secret, notable federal government officials are aware of this report.
“Her brother accused Premium Times of getting their facts wrong but he is also doing same thing. The facts of this matter are there for all to see and there is no need sugar coating the matter,” the official said.
It would be recalled that in June 2021, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo launched Mrs Adeosun’s charity organization, DashMe Store, an event by itself indicating that Mr. Ogun’s claims must be closely questioned.
