A Lagos youth corps member, Ushie Rita Uguamaye — popularly known as “Raye” — who criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government, says the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has withheld her discharge certificate in alleged retaliation for her comments.
Ms Uguamaye grabbed the headlines earlier in the year following her viral TikTok video in which she criticised President Tinubu’s administration and described Lagos as “smelling”
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She alleged in a fresh video that her Local Government Inspector (LGI) refused to clear her for April despite her being present on the scheduled date.
In the viral video clip she shared on Instagram on Saturday, she claimed she was repeatedly told to “go to the back” until the official eventually seized her file, refused to attend to her, and ordered her to leave.
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The corps member said she was later informed she would not receive her certificate because she missed April clearance, which she insists is untrue.
“I genuinely wish I wasn’t a Lagos State corps member because it’s a waste of my time,” she wrote on social media, adding that she had decided to close the chapter and move on.
Sowore weighs in
Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, accused the NYSC of punishing Ms Uguamaye for her criticism of the Tinubu administration.
“It is with deep sadness and renewed outrage that I address the ongoing injustice against Raye,” he said in a post on his Facebook page on Saturday.
“We will not stop until we achieve victory not just for her, but for every Nigerian denied their rights by an oppressive system.”
Mr Sowore noted that Ms Uguamaye’s activism allegedly pressured authorities to increase corps members’ monthly allowance to N77,000, describing her certificate denial as “an injustice of the highest order.”
Earlier dispute
In March, Mr Sowore accused the Eti-Osa LGI of abandoning her office after summoning Ms Uguamaye.
He said he accompanied her with lawyers, but the official failed to appear throughout their visit.
The summons followed Ms Uguamaye’s viral video in which she lamented economic hardship, high inflation, and poor living conditions under Mr Tinubu’s government.
She claimed she began receiving threats from NYSC officials pressuring her to delete the content and feared for her safety, noting that the officials had her personal details.
READ ALSO: Presidential aide defends comment on NYSC member who criticised Tinubu
The case has drawn national attention, which made the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar praise Ms Uguamaye’s courage, likening her to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Margaret Ekpo.
Also, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi warned against silencing critics, while the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the president to order the NYSC to stop harassing her.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) president Festus Osifo said her comments reflected public frustration and should not be met with retaliation.
However, former presidential aide Reno Omokri criticised her actions, arguing corps members should focus on their service duties and remain apolitical.
The NYSC has not commented on the matter. Efforts to reach its Director of Press and Public Relations, Edwin Megwa, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to his phone went unanswered.
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