Robert Ngwu, the spokesperson of the embattled Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has falsely accused PREMIUM TIMES of receiving N100 million in bribes from the Enugu State Government to publish the newspaper’s current investigation exposing how the minister cast his diploma and NYSC certificates.
Mr Ngwu made the allegation on Tuesday when he appeared as a visitor on The Morning Brief, a Channels TV programme.
The Investigation
A two-year investigation published by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday revealed that Mr Nnaji cast the credentials he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate throughout his ministerial affirmation in 2023.
Allegations of certificates forgery have dogged Mr Nnaji since July 2023, when President Tinubu named him among the many first batch of 28 ministerial nominees from 25 states forwarded to the Senate as a part of the president’s preliminary cupboard record, two months after taking workplace on 29 May 2023.
Critics have lengthy insisted that Mr Nnaji didn’t full his college training and that each the bachelor’s diploma and NYSC certificates he introduced to President Tinubu, and the workplaces of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the State Security Service, and the Senate, have been cast.
The findings of PREMIUM TIMES’ intensive examination of the paperwork have been damning and conclusive: each the diploma certificates and the NYSC discharge certificates within the minister’s possession are outright forgeries.
This newspaper reported on Sunday how the minister admitted that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) by no means issued him a level certificates.
Many Nigerians have expressed outrage over the minister’s certificates forgery scandal.
On Monday, Mr Nnaji was absent from a press convention his workplace referred to as to deal with the matter. His aides, nonetheless, appeared on his behalf and made unsubstantiated claims, together with the claim that the minister graduated from UNN.
PREMIUM TIMES later published paperwork exhibiting that on the time Mr Nnaji claimed to have graduated from UNN and purportedly proceeded to take part within the obligatory NYSC programme, he was nonetheless exchanging letters with the establishment on how he might re-sit an examination for a terminal course he failed.
Unsubstantiated claims
On the TV programme, Mr Ngwu, a lawyer, claimed that the Enugu State Government paid PREMIUM TIMES N100 million to do the report.
“PREMIUM TIMES was allegedly paid N100 million to start this process,” the spokesperson claimed, referring to the investigative report.
“By who?” Kayode Okikiolu, one of many programme anchors, requested the spokesperson.
“This is a big allegation, Mr Ngwu. Who paid and do you have proof?” the anchor requested once more.
Mr Ngwu tried to evade the query by stressing “allegedly paid,” earlier than promising to talk on that later.
When pressed, he claimed: They (PREMIUM TIMES) have been allegedly paid by the state authorities of Enugu State. That’s the individual behind the masks.”
Mr Okikiolu, for the umpteenth time, requested Mr Ngwu to indicate proof of his allegation however the aide claimed the proof can be given later after which requested the Enugu State Government to defend itself.
Another anchor, Bukola Coker, additional pressed the minister’s aide to present proof of his allegations.
“It was people who (gave) verbal confirmation (of the allegation). We can find out,” Mr Ngwu responded. “We have our sources.”
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Government has since denied the allegations that the federal government was concerned within the investigation uncovering Mr Nnaji’s certificates forgery.
Chukwuemeka Nebo, the director of knowledge within the State Ministry of Information and Communication, said this in a press release on Monday.
“The Enugu State Government dissociates itself completely from these allegations. The Honourable Minister must carry his own cross and clear his name before Nigerians, instead of dragging the government into issues that are entirely personal to him,” Mr Nebo stated within the assertion.
‘We need to speak with the minister himself’
On the TV programme, Mr Ngwu continued to make unsubstantiated claims whereas evading key questions raised from the revealed investigative story.
The aide claimed Mr Nnaji solely requested his transcript in May this 12 months after he received info that the college authorities have been tampering with the minister’s tutorial data in collusion with the Enugu State Government.
“Transcript is a superior document that shows somebody’s academic record,” he claimed.
But Mr Okikiolu countered the minister’s aide.
“I find it curious that you say that a transcript is superior to a certificate when it’s proven that a certificate is indeed the proof that you have completed your course,” the anchor countered.
He then went on to ask Mr Ngwu to verify the certificates the minister submitted to the Senate for his ministerial affirmation, on condition that he claimed in a courtroom submitting that he had not collected his certificates from UNN.
Mr Ikikiolu additionally requested the aide to reply to the correspondence revealed by PREMIUM TIMES, indicating that the UNN had knowledgeable the minister that he had did not go his course and wanted to retake it.
“You asked a very valid question, which is why the honourable minister is asking for his transcript,” Mr Ngwu stated, with out addressing the questions.
Apparently unhappy along with his responses, the anchor then requested to interview the minister himself.
“Yesterday, the minister didn’t present up. In instances like this, you count on that he reveals up and says, ‘You know, this is the situation because I serve Nigerians.’
“So it would be great to have a conversation with the minister. Let’s walk through it together,” the anchor recommended.
More evasion of questions
Mr Okikiolu additionally requested Mr Ngwu to reply to rising requires Mr Nnaji to resign within the mild of the investigations, however the aide failed to deal with the query.
On her half, Mrs Coker requested Mr Ngwu to verify if the minister certainly admitted in a courtroom submitting that he has not gotten his certificates from UNN.
“Anything that comes from Premium Times, to me, has no credibility,” he claimed, evading the query.
When pressed additional, he stated: “He never admitted that (UNN did not give him his certificate). What he said is that he has never received his transcript. He received his certificate. But it is not his job to validate the certificate. It is the school’s responsibility.”
“Well, your answer is neither here nor there. We might have to hear from the minister himself in order to verify whether, indeed, he received his certificate from the university or not,” Mrs Coker remarked.
The anchor additional requested the aide to reply to the response from the NYSC authorities to PREMIUM TIMES, wherein they disowned the NYSC discharge certificates within the minister’s possession.
“That’s false,” he stated. “NYSC never did that. Let them (PREMIUM TIMES) show you what the NYSC sent them.”
PREMIUM TIMES reacts
Reacting, the Managing Editor of PREMIUM TIMES, Idris Akinbajo, denied the allegation that this newspaper collected N100 million bribe from the Enugu State Government.
“It’s totally false,” Mr Akinbajo stated of the allegation. “If the minister or his aides have any evidence of such a bribe, we urge them to make it available to the public.”
“Our dedication is to moral, investigative journalism and holding energy accountable. We have carried out so persistently for 14 years as a newspaper and can proceed to take action.
“Mr Ngwu should be ready to meet us in court, where he will have further opportunities to prove his allegations against us. We are not a newspaper he can so baselessly malign.”