Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Bola Tinubu administration following the resignation of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, amidst a certificate forgery scandal.
In a statement posted on his X page on Wednesday Atiku described the minister’s resignation as an attempt to whitewash yet another scandal.
He argued that it signifies a deep moral crisis within the current government.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contended that Nnaji, who was accused of presenting forged degrees and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates during his ministerial confirmation in 2023, should have been “summarily dismissed and prosecuted for deceit and falsification” rather than being allowed a courtesy resignation.
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He further asserted that permitting the former minister to quietly exit through the back door demonstrates that the Tinubu administration is an assembly of forgers, impostors, and morally bankrupt individuals masquerading as public servants.
He directed harsh criticism at the Department of State Services (DSS) for clearing Nnaji during the screening process, despite the allegations of forgery.
He contrasted Nnaji’s clearance with the agency’s earlier decision to screen out former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, citing “security concerns.”
“The same Department of State Services is the very agency that cleared this same character, Uche Nnaji,” Atiku stated.
He questioned the agency’s due diligence and described its failure as a national disgrace that makes Nigeria an object of ridicule before the world.
Atiku framed the Nnaji scandal as part of a larger pattern, a rot that begins from the very top, directly referencing the controversies surrounding Tinubu’s own academic and identity records, including the Chicago State University saga.
He argued that the President’s personal history of alleged forgery and perjury has effectively institutionalised falsehood in public service, making it unsurprising that his ministers and aides have taken after his example by falsifying documents, inflating records, and desecrating the moral foundation of our nation.
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Atiku issued a call for an independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigation into the academic and professional credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council, beginning with Tinubu himself.
He insisted that such a “cleansing” is necessary for the country to stop sinking deeper into moral decay, economic ruin, and global embarrassment, and to restore integrity to public life.
