Minister resigns from Buhari's cabinet following NYSC certificate forgery scandal

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has reportedly resigned from President Muhammadu Buharis cabinet following weeks of pressure

A source in the presidency disclosed to Pulse that the minister tendered her resignation letter to the office of the president earlier in the week, even though she was still on her desk at the time of filing this story.

"She considers her position no longer tenable in the cabinet. She also thinks she'll be a liability to President Buhari's re-election plans if she stays on, hence the resignation", the source explained.

The minister's Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Oluyinka Akintunde, did not pick up phone calls made by to confirm the story, but the presidency source said she's expected to release a statement soon.

Allegations against Adeosun

Investigations by online news platform, Premium Times, uncovered the minister's alleged forgery of an exemption certificate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) after failing to enroll for the one-year mandatory scheme for all Nigerian graduates.

Despite the public pressure on Buhari to fire the minister or, at least, acknowledge the situation, he has not said anything about the controversy which first surfaced two months ago.

Earlier in August, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the president's image has not been dented in any way by the controversy.

He said the president cannot act until the allegations have been proven to be genuine by the appropriate authorities.

In July, NYSC promised to investigate the origin of the purported exemption certificate but no update has been provided after several weeks.