THE National Youth Service Corps has denied extending the service year of a Lagos corper, Rita Uguamaye, also known as Raye, for criticising the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
This newspaper reports that Raye became an Internet sensation following her public criticism of the present administration, which she described as worsening economic conditions.
Uguamaye had, in a viral video shared on her TikTok account, @talktoraye, expressed frustration over Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, lamenting the high inflation and economic hardship.
Uguamaye had also criticised the President by describing him as a “terrible leader” while questioning the government’s efforts to alleviate the hardship faced by the citizens.
Additionally, she stressed that Lagos State is a “smelling state” and lamented its “poor living conditions.”
After the video had gone viral, Uguamaye posted another video on her TikTok to alert the public that she was allegedly being threatened by the NYSC authorities, a claim which was not commented on by the authority.
She claimed that some officials of the NYSC were asking her to delete the video, while she insisted that she had only spoken the truth about the country’s situation.
Following her allegations, several individuals, including ex-Vice President Abubakar Atiku and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, condemned the alleged threat to her life.
Sharing a news caption on Tuesday that read, “NYSC punitively extends Raye’s service year by 2 months for criticising Tinubu’s administration over hardship”, Sowore vowed to protest at the NYSC passing out parade.
Sowore wrote, “This Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime might go down with Rita Raye’s National Youth Service Corps matter.”
“This is not acceptable, we will mobilise down to the Passing Out Parade except Rita is allowed to complete her NYSC national service without let or hindrance.”
When contacted on Tuesday, the acting NYSC Director, Press and Public Relations, Carol Embu, said the decision to extend a corps member’s service year is made when such a person is passing out.
She disclosed that there are guidelines that would be followed if such an action were to be taken.
“Who is Sowore? Does he work with the NYSC? So, how come you are listening to him? I don’t understand how she will get an extension if she is still serving.
“NYSC is not an irresponsible organisation; we work with rules and regulations. She is still serving; if she has any issues, we will wait and see,” Embu said.
Meanwhile, our correspondent could not independently verify the claim of service year extension from Uguamaye as she did not made any post to made such claim on her verify social media handles.