Hannatu Musawa, the current Minister of Arts and Culture, has been accused of violating the NYSC act by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, confirmed that the minister has been serving in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the past eight months, which is in breach of the NYSC act that prohibits corps members from taking up government appointments until their one-year service is completed.

Megwa clarified that Hannatu Musawa was initially mobilized for the youth service to Ebonyi state in 2001, where she underwent her orientation program. However, she later relocated to Kaduna to continue the program but ended up not completing it after absconding.

Legal experts have weighed in on the matter. Lawyer Abeny Mohammed emphasized that the appointment of the minister while still serving as a corper is a direct breach of the NYSC act. He stated, “The situation we have at hand is that this person is still serving as a corper and she has been appointed a minister. It shows the inconsistency in our policies and disregard for our laws.”

Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, also pointed out that this appointment violates section 2 of the NYSC act, which prohibits serving individuals from being appointed as ministers.

Hannatu Musawa recently gained the position of Minister of Arts and Culture through an appointment by President Bola Tinubu. As of now, there has been no official comment from her regarding these allegations.