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The presidential candidate of the Labor Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has condemned the prevalence of falsification of certificates among public officials in the country.
He, because of that. call for quick and firm actions against those found guilty of serving as a prevention for others.
Obi made a statement in a statement on Monday in Lagos.
He reacted to the Premium Times investigation which reported that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), rejected the Bachelor of Science held by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji.
The report claims that the Minister admitted that in court that the university had never issued a degree certificate, because he did not complete his studies at the institution.
According to the submission of a court before Judge Hauwa Yilwa from the Federal High Court in Abuja, NNAJI has sued the Minister of Education, the National University Commission (NUC), the University of Nigeria, the Deputy Chancellor, the Registrar, the former Deputy Chancellor, and the University Senate of the issue.
Describing the development as a symptom of deepening Nigerian moral decay, Obi said those who were expected to set ethical standards for the nation had become a “source of moral collapse.”
“When dishonesty is exhibited by those who should be a role model, it damages the moral compass of the community and reduces what young people see as acceptable behavior,” said the former Governor of Anambra.
Obi compared Nigerian law enforcement with practices in Indonesia, where, according to him, the discovery of academic qualifications that was forged caused disqualification and direct prosecution.
He regretted that in Nigeria, the Independent National Election Commission (Inec) often failed to verify academic credentials before the election or acting on charges of forgery afterwards.
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“Even though our law prescribed disqualification immediately for counterfeiting, Inec did not examine the certificate before the election or investigated the credible complaints afterwards,” Obi said.
“Even worse, when such problems were appointed in court, they were dismissed as ‘pre-election problems,’ denied this criminal acts that they deserve to get.”
He stated the concern that people with questionable credentials continued to pass through many layers of institutional supervision, including security checks, parliamentary playback, and executive appointment.
“What’s more troubling,” Obi noted, “is that many of these people swear a written statement in court to validate the documents that are falsified.”
Looking forward to the 2027 general election, Obi proposed reforms to strengthen transparency and accountability in the election process.
He urged that all candidates for public office, whether incumbent or new candidates, were asked to submit their academic certificates to Inec immediately after the preliminary election, at least six months before the election. These documents, he said, must be published to be verified within 90 days.
“This verification process must also apply to appointed officials, including the Minister and Assistant,” Obi stressed. “When the dishonesty starts from above, he filters every level of government, as we witnessed today.”
Calling for greater institutional integrity, Obi insisted that criminal violations such as counterfeiting should not be treated as a mere procedural problem.
“We must end the era where fraud and counterfeiting are valued in strength,” he said. “True leadership must begin with the truth.”
