(Bloomberg) -- Nigerian Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun resigned Friday amid allegations she presented a fake national service exemption certificate in order to qualify for public office in the West African nation.

President Muhammadu Buhari accepted the resignation and approved that the Ministry of Finance would be overseen by the minister of state in charge of budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, the presidency said in an emailed statement.

The change is unlikey to have an impact on economic policies in Africa’s biggest oil producer, which is recovering from an economic slump in 2016 and holding general elections early next year, according to Malte Liewerscheidt, vice president of the risk advisory group Teneo Intelligence.

“Adeosun is not a political heavy-weight and her resignation and replacement would be highly unlikely to alter Nigeria’s overall fiscal and economic policies,” he said in an emailed note. “It should be noted that since the story broke on 7 July, President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has not rushed to Adeosun’s support by dismissing the allegation.”

Mandatory Service

News website Premium Times reported in July that Adeosun, 51, submitted a fake national service exemption certificate when she presented her credentials to lawmakers in 2015. The government said it was investigating the matter.

Nigeria’s one-year NYSC program is mandatory for university graduates younger than 30. Those exempt include people who graduate after 30 or served in the military or police for more than nine months by the time they finish their studies. No Nigerian can hold public office without doing the service or presenting an exemption certificate.

Adeosun was born and spent much of her youth in the U.K. Before she was appointed minister of finance in 2015, she served as commissioner of finance in southwestern Ogun state.

The opposition People’s Democratic Party called for the minister’s resignation when the controversy broke in July. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with nearly 200 million inhabitants, is scheduled to hold general elections in February, with Buhari seeking a second term.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Abuja at ebalagbogbo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Sophie Mongalvy, Robert Jameson

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