15th September, 2018
The Centre for Anti- Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL has welcomed the decision of the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun to resign from office over lingering allegations that she forged her NYSC discharge certificate.
In a press release issued on Friday by CACOL’s Media and Publications Officer, Mr. Ikenna Aghagbobi while reacting to the development on behalf of the group’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he described Adeosun’s resignation as the outcome of a massive pressure that was mounted on the Federal Government by the media and the civil society.
According to the CACOL boss: “It would be recalled that Kemi Adeosun’s NYSC discharge certificate forgery saga has gained a lot of public attention from the 10th of July when it was first published by Premium Times online newspaper. So far, a lot of petitions, press releases and statements have been issued to address the factors surrounding her NYSC certificate scandal and how it negates all that President Buhari’s Administration stands for.
“We also recall writing a petition to the President asking her to resign her position or respond to the allegations leveled against her. While we welcome her decision to quit office, we are not satisfied as her resignation is a confirmation that she indeed forged the NYSC discharge certificate and tendered it as authentic to enable her occupy various public offices since she returned to the country. This, we view as a criminal act which must attract punishment”.
Mr. Adeniran further added: “Sadly, we live in a society where gross levels of dishonesty and corruption have been perpetrated by those who are meant to be setting good examples for other members of the society to emulate. These individuals end up sending wrong messages and automatically set the stage for breeding future social deviants in the society.
“While we commend the present administration in its drive to eradicate corruption from our society, a situation where there is a deafening silence to corruption allegations from both the government and the accused is no longer acceptable.”
“Another high ranking public official whose case needs to be tackled without further delay is President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Prosecutions, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla. Obono-Obla has been indicted by a House of Representatives panel over forgery of the West African School Certificate (WASC). Officials of West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) who appeared on the floor of the House of Representatives to testify in his case revealed that Obla’s certificate was a product of fraud.
“It is therefore pertinent to state that the allegations leveled against Obono-Obla should be treated with dispatch and resolved on the side of truth and supremacy of the Law.”