Abuja - Nigerian President Muhammadu
Buhari on Friday accepted the resignation of Finance Minister
Kemi Adeosun, who said she stepped down over allegations of
using a forged certificate to avoid participation in the
country's mandatory one-year national youth service scheme.
Adeosun, a top cabinet member and a former investment banker
who promoted the government's policy to boost growth following a
recent recession, said in a statement that she believed she was
exempt from the service scheme but felt bound to resign because
of the administration's "focus on integrity".
Allegations that Adeosun had used a forged exemption
certificate to avoid participation in the youth service scheme
surfaced in recent months in the Nigerian media. Adeosun did not
comment on the claims initially, prompting criticism from her
opponents.
In her statement on Friday, Adeosun said her understanding
was that she was exempted from the scheme because she had moved
back to Nigeria from Britain, where she was born, after she had
passed the required minimum age.
"I have, today, become privy to the findings of the
investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that
the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp
(NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine," she said in her
statement. "This has come as a shock to me and I believe that in
line with this administration's focus on integrity, I must do
the honourable thing and resign."
The claim that Adeosun had used a forged exemption document
was first reported by Nigerian online publication Premium Times.
Adeosun was appointed by Buhari to manage the finances of
Africa's biggest economy in November 2015. Her flagship policy
was a bid to improve tax collection and shore up the country's
finances by cracking down on mismanagement by government
agencies.
Adeosun also oversaw a strategy of restructuring Nigeria's
debt portfolio into longer term maturities by borrowing more
offshore and less at home to lower costs.
Buhari took office in 2015 after an election campaign
largely fought on his vow to fight corruption, but his
detractors have accused him of failing to investigate allies
accused of wrongdoing.
The presidency approved that the minister of state for
budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, would oversee the
Finance Ministry with immediate effect, it said on its official
Twitter account.
The west African country emerged from recession last year,
but growth remains sluggish and largely dependent on higher oil
prices, despite the stated aim of Buhari's administration to
increase non-oil revenues.
The government's handling of the economy is likely to be a
campaign issue in February's presidential election in which
Buhari plans to seek a second term.