The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, says his statement regarding a capital punishment recommendation for embattled corps member, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, known as Raye, was taken out of context.
The presidential aide said his statement on capital punishment relates to the by-laws and established protocols of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The clarification was made in a statement on Monday after an earlier submission in which Ajayi said Raye, who described Tinubu as a terrible President, deserved capital punishment.
Ajayi argued that it was normal for citizens to criticize the President, but a corps member has no such right.
However, his reference to capital punishment was interpreted as the death penalty under Nigeria’s law.
But the presidential aide has now clarified that he means the maximum punishment under NYSC law, which is expulsion, and not the death penalty for the corps member.
He called for a halt to the misrepresentation and patent mischief on his earlier statement.
“It has become imperative to dispel the misrepresentation and patent mischief that has trailed my comment on a Facebook post.
“I suggested that flagrant and open abuse and disregard of NYSC by-laws and established protocol should attract the full NYSC disciplinary measures, particularly regarding a corps member’s recent display of imprudence.
“It is trite to say the maximum punishment under the NYSC protocol is expulsion; nothing beyond the established norms and laws is suggested or remotely implied.
“The NYSC scheme is a historic and treasured national programme that should not be sullied and ridiculed by indiscipline. It symbolises our triumph over division and consistent effort to forge a more potent and virile union.
“Most importantly, we should abide by our old cherished values of dignity, discipline, and respect for one another as citizens,” Ajayi said in a fresh post on Facebook.
