The State Services (SSS) has faulted the claims repeatedly made by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to the effect that Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State forged his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
The SSS presented its findings to the Enugu Election Petition Tribunal while lampooning the NYSC for conducting a hasty and inadequate investigation, leading to the false claim that Mbah’s certificate was fake.
The governor who contested in the 2023 general election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been embroiled in controversy over his NYSC discharge certificate.
Repeatedly denying possessing a fake NYSC certificate, Dr. Mbah has maintained that he completed his national service in Lagos State and was issued with a discharge certificate by the NYSC authorities.
The certificate is usually issued to Nigerian graduates under 30 years of age who have successfully completed a mandatory one-year national service organised by the NYSC.
The SSS told the Tribunal that during their investigation, they discovered that the series of certificates in Mbah’s possession were genuinely issued to corps members in Lagos, contrary to the NYSC’s initial assertion. The Labour Party disputed the DSS report, asserting that it lacked official DSS letterhead and stamps, suggesting it may not be an official statement from the agency.
A representative of the Secret Police, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, disclosed during his testimony at the Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that the NYSC had misplaced Mbah’s original file, and instead, a temporary file was used for reference after he returned from Law School to complete his NYSC service. Additionally, the NYSC was unable to trace the recipients of twelve other certificates, A808297 to A808308. The DSS commenced the investigation in response to a petition by Dr. Mbah on February 8, 2023.
The issue with Mbah’s NYSC certificate arose due to the NYSC’s flawed record-keeping system, as stated in the DSS findings. It was revealed that Mbah served for six months, attended Law School, and then completed his youth service, following the proper procedures through the Lagos State NYSC office to the national headquarters. However, due to the missing original file, the temporary one became the primary reference, causing confusion and controversy surrounding his NYSC certificate.
Meanwhile, INEC failed to present any witness to defend the allegation of malpractice in the election that produced Mr. Mbah as the governor of the state.INEC had, through its team of lawyers led by Humphrey Okoli, told the court that the commission had decided not to bring any witness.
“The first respondent (INEC) is mandated to open the case. My Lord, after a thorough review of the case, we have decided not to bring in any witness,” Mr Okoli said, without giving the reason for the decision.
