16/10/2025
Alleged NYSC certificate row: CSO urges Tinubu to allow transparent probe
The Nigeria Integrity Movement (NIM), a civil society organisation (CSO), has urged President Bola Tinubu to allow a transparent probe into Interior Minister’s NYSC certificate controversy.
The group called for probe of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s NYSC certificate, saying any cover-up would erode government’s credibility and invite political exploitation.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, the convener of the group, Davies Ijele, described alleged calls by some interest groups for the president to shield the minister as dangerous and damaging to the government’s reputation for rule-based governance.
Ijele warned that accepting calls for a cover-up would, therefore, hand opponents a potent political issue and damage Tinubu’s anti-corruption and good-governance credentials.
He recalled a precedent where a minister stepped down amid certificate controversy, saying voluntary transparency or resignation when wrongdoing is established helps protect institutional integrity.
“We are not on a political witch-hunt. We demand truth if there were administrative lapses at the NYSC, those must be fixed; if the minister’s documents are flawed, the law must take its course,” he stressed.
He appealed to President Tinubu to direct the relevant security and oversight agencies including the Department of State Services and anti-corruption bodies where appropriate to investigate the matter and report publicly.
“Decisive, transparent action will reassure Nigerians and strengthen confidence in the administration’s commitment to accountability,” Ijele added.
NAN reports that the All Progressives Congress, APC in Rivers on Tuesday, slammed what it described as a coordinated smear campaign by desperate politicians to tarnish the image of Tunji-Ojo, declaring the attacks “dead on arrival.”
APC spokesperson in the state, Darlington Nwauju, said recent social media publications pushing recycled allegations against the minister are a failed attempt to distract a performing public servant whose track record speaks louder than propaganda. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Sadiya Hamza
