President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday accepted the resignation of Kemi Adeosun as minister of finance.
The president also approved that Zainab Ahmed, the minister of state for budget and national planning, should oversee the ministry immediately.
This was contained in a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman.
In her resignation letter, the former minister thanked Buhari for giving her the opportunity to serve.
She said she did not intentionally forge her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate, explaining the circumstances under which she obtained the document.
“Let me commence by thanking you profusely for the honour and privilege of serving under your inspirational leadership. It has been a truly rewarding experience to learn from you and to observe at close quarters your integrity and sense of duty,” she said.
“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. 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.
“Your Excellency, kindly permit me to outline some of the background to this matter. I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, indeed my parental family home remains in London. My visits to Nigeria up until the age of thirty-four (34) were holidays, with visas obtained in my UK passport. I obtained my first Nigerian passport at the age of thirty-four (34) and when I relocated there was debate as to whether NYSC Law applied to me.
“Upon inquiry as to my status relating to NYSC, I was informed that due to my residency history and having exceeded the age of thirty (30), I was exempted from the requirement to serve. Until recent events, that remained my understanding.”
Adeosun said she had accepted her fate.
