By Jude Opara, Abuja
The Labour Party (LP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to halt his administration`s descent to “authoritarianism” by directing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to without further delay issue a discharge certificate to Ushie Rita Uguamaye.
Uguamye who is popularly known as Raye, had last year criticised the poor monthly allowance for Corps members as well as the rising cost of living in the country.
The party also called on the President to call to order, “overzealous state agents determined to turn Nigeria into a repressive state under the guise of protecting the regime.”
In a statement on Monday, Ken Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser to the Interim National Chairman, Sen. Nenadi Usman, faulted the claim of the NYSC that Raye didn’t complete her mandatory biometric clearance, hence the withdrawal.
“The NYSC’s claim that Raye’s certificate was withheld because she missed her mandatory April 2025 biometric clearance is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.”
The LP added that the withdrawal of Raye’s discharge certificate “is yet another vengeful act which is characteristic of the administration of Tinubu’s and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
It could be recalled that in March 2024, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, an NYSC member serving in Lagos state, posted a video decrying the cost-of-living crises, and the poor state of the welfare of corp members.
The viral video, in which she called President Bola Tinubu “a terrible president”, also saw her complaining about the air quality in Lagos state. Her video spread widely across social media, generating many comments, as many Nigerians resonated with her concerns about the rising economic hardship.
However, the controversy took a different twist when Raye posted another video, which equally included the recording of a phone conversation with her NYSC Local Government Inspector (LGI), who threatened her with sanctions unless she took down the initial video, citing its political content.
Raye who is supposed to finish her service in the second quarter of the year in a recent post on Instagram raised the alarm, saying she went to the NYSC office to claim her discharge certificate, but she was not given.
The statement continued, “According to Raye’s account, her Local Government Inspector (LGI) unjustly denied her the opportunity to complete the biometric process for that month.
“Independent findings corroborate her story: Raye presented herself at the LGI centre in April with all required documentation, only to be turned away by the official on duty.
“It is deeply regrettable that freedom of expression and the right to hold opinions – guaranteed under Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) – have effectively been criminalised by this intolerant APC government.
“What exactly did Raye say that is not already common knowledge? Is there any Nigerian today who does not know that this APC government is “terrible” in its policy initiatives and implementations? Why, then, should she be victimised for merely echoing an open secret”?
The statement called on all Nigerians to remain vigilant, insisting that Nigerian democracy is endangered by the “tyrannical impulses” of the APC administration.
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