President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has defended his controversial remarks about a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member who criticised the president’s handling of the economy.

Mr Ajayi said his reference to “capital punishment” was misconstrued, clarifying that he had called for the highest disciplinary action permissible under NYSC regulations—not the execution of the corps member, as some reports suggested.

“I suggested that flagrant and open abuse and disregard of NYSC by-laws and established protocol should attract the full NYSC disciplinary measures, particularly regarding a corps member’s recent display of imprudence,” he wrote in a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES.

“It is trite to say the maximum punishment under the NYSC protocol is expulsion; nothing beyond the established norms and laws is suggested or remotely implied.”

The controversy began when an NYSC member serving in Lagos, Ushie Uguamaye, posted a video on social media condemning government policies that have contributed to the rising cost of living in Nigeria.

In the video, Ms Uguamaye called President Tinubu a “terrible leader,” questioning his commitment to addressing economic hardship and citizens’ welfare.

Reacting to the corps member’s video in a Facebook post, Mr Ajayi claimed she was not qualified to criticise the president or any public official because she is a corps member.

He also called for her punishment by the NYSC authorities.

“Citizens can abuse a living day out of their President or any public official. It is normal. But a corp member 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 corp member under any guise and the symbol of sovereign authority which is the President. She should be punished to the full extent not just warning. She chose to be silly, then she should face the consequences,” he wrote.

Some media reports interpreted his statement as a call for Ms Uguamaye’s execution, suggesting he advocated a penalty such as hanging or a firing squad. However, Mr Ajayi has denied this, accusing critics of twisting his words.

The corps member posted another video on Sunday, explaining that some NYSC officials had called to berate and ‘threaten’ her to delete the video and report to her Local Government Inspector(LGI) on Monday.

During the visit, she was accompanied by the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, and Human Rights Lawyer Festus Ogun. The LGI was, however, unavailable.