The Labour Party leader and the party’s 2023 Presidential flag bearer, Peter Obi, has warned that certificate forgery risks normalising crime in Nigeria, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant clearing agencies to ensure thorough scrutiny of candidates to prevent the embarrassment of allowing criminals into office.
Obi spoke on Monday following an investigative report by PREMIUM TIMES that revealed the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), disowned the Bachelor of Science degree certificate in the possession of the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji, wherein the university stated that the politician did not complete his studies at the institution and was never issued a certificate.
Citing court documents filed before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the report claimed that Nnaji also admitted that UNN never issued him a degree certificate. following media reports that a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet admitted he never received a university degree.
Obi, who lamented that “a lot of people in office today are parading forged certificates and fraudulent affidavits they used in 2023,” he noted that despite that they “scaled through both INEC, security and the Senate scrutiny with forged documents.”
Stressing that “thorough scrutiny has become necessary because the process by which one gets to office is far more fundamental than what they do thereafter,” he admonished INEC and others agencies “to ensure that candidates’ documents and character are thoroughly examined and necessary action taken.”
Writing on his X handle titled ‘The danger of making crime a norm’, Obi noted: “Whenever I talk about Nigeria being a crime scene, those who are part of the criminality and their hirelings will quickly start their noise-making, attacking and blackmailing me. But how do you tell people that those whose integrity, character and behaviour are supposed to be exemplary and emulated in society have become the very source of the nation’s decay? How do you tell young Nigerians to be honest and upright when those they are supposed to emulate are the least to be emulated because they are criminals and dishonest?
“Certificate forgery is a serious criminal offence in all countries of the world. It is one of the most corrupt practices heavily punished.
“In one of my knowledge-seeking visits to Indonesia early this year, after interacting with several ministers responsible for Health, Villages, SMEs, Planning, and Education, as well as the Vice President and President Joko Widodo on development, I met with the Chairman of the General Elections Commission of Indonesia. I asked him about the educational qualifications required to participate in elections from local government to the State legislature, Governorship, and up to the Presidential level. He openly stated these qualifications to me.
“My team and I then asked a simple question: What happens if someone contests for public office with a forged certificate or did not attend the school he claimed he attended? He looked at me, surprised and shocked, and said: ‘That attracts immediate disqualification and prosecution. It is a criminal offence.’ He added, ‘If someone can forge a certificate, how can that person be trusted to lead others?’
“But in my country Nigeria, though the laws are same as in other countries, that forgery is punished by immediate disqualification, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) makes no effort to scrutinize certificates before the elections, over looks complaints of forgery and when you challenged after the elections, court will dismiss the serious criminal issues as “pre-election matters” without giving this criminal act appropriate punishment.
“INEC, even after the elections, does not bother to revisit or investigate these serious offences before the next election.
“The other concerning issue from all these is how criminals and dishonest people scale through all the scrutiny layers -security, parliament and government apparatus set to handle such.
“Even more disturbing, amounting to double tragedy, is that most of these dishonest people swore to an affidavit before a law court attesting to the authenticity of the documents they presented.
“We are now preparing for the 2027 general elections. INEC have enough time to investigate past complaints about various forms of forgery and false claims.
“Our Electoral amendments must include that anyone intending to contest for any public office, whether an incumbent or a new candidate, must submit all academic certificates to the electoral body immediately after party primaries, at least six months before the election. These certificates, alongside details of schools attended, what was studied and years of study, should be made public for verification within 90 days. This process must also apply to appointed officials, Ministers and even aides, because when dishonesty starts from the top, it spreads to every level of governance, just like it’s happening now.
“We must deal with certificate forgery holistically with the seriousness and level of criminality it deserves. Criminal offences should not be dismissed as a mere procedural matter. We must end the era where forgery and deceit are rewarded with power. True leadership must begin with truth.
“A New Nigeria is POssible.”
