Presidential Aide Rejects Execution Claim, Addresses NYSC Member's Criticism

 A presidential aide has denied allegations that he called for the execution of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member who publicly criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a clarification following widespread public backlash over his comments regarding Ushie Uguamaye's social media posts.

Ajayi emphasized that he advocated for Uguamaye to face disciplinary measures in accordance with the NYSC's established code of conduct, rather than capital punishment. This statement comes after his earlier comments sparked controversy.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, Ajayi had distinguished between the rights of ordinary citizens and NYSC members, stating, "If she is not a corper, she can say whatever she fancies like people do per second. Citizens can abuse the living day out of their President or any public official. It is normal." He then went on to emphasize that as an NYSC member, she was subject to the organizations rules.

The aide's clarification aims to address the public outcry and clarify his position on the matter, reiterating that he supports adherence to NYSC regulations rather than extreme measures.

He continued: “But a corper violated her oath and code of conduct here. That is capital punishment under NYSC. You can’t abuse the country you are serving as a corper under any guise and the symbol of sovereign authority, which is the president. She should be punished to the fullest extent, not just warned.”

In response to extensive criticism, Ajayi made a statement on Monday refuting claims that he had advocated for the corps member’s execution. He characterized these accusations as a deliberate distortion of his words.

 “The mob get their oxygen from misrepresentations and delibrate mischief. I made comments under a post where I advertently wrote that what the lady corper did should attract capital punishment under NYSC which means her indiscretion should attract highest punishment under the NYSC scheme.

“The highest punishment under NYSC is expulsion. There was a follow-up comment under same thread where I provided the context in my usage of capital punishment under NYSC as a metaphor. The follow-up comment that explained the previous comment was ignored.

“It is common sense that there is no death penalty

 anywhere as punishment under NYSC law.”