Enugu State
PDP Reacts To Alleged NYSC Certificate Forgery Against Peter Mba
The Enugu State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council has described the allegation of forgery of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate against its governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Mbah as false.
A group, Total Support for Rule of Law and Justice Initiative, had, at a press conference announced that it had utilised the Freedom of Information Act to compel the NYSC to divulge information regarding the certificate Mbah submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Sequel to the information obtained from NYSC, the group approached the Abuja chief magistrate court, Wuse Zone 6, to request Mbah’s disqualification for presenting a ‘forged’ certificate to INEC.
It was alleged that the PDP candidate for the March 11 governorship election in Enugu State, fainted inside the NYSC headquarters, Abuja, on Tuesday where he had gone to find out if the corps indeed issued a letter flaunted by the non-governmental organisation regarding his NYSC discharge certificate.
However, PDP in a statement by its Director of Public Communications and Spokesperson for Enugu State Campaign Council, Nana Ogbodo, said the allegation was the conjecture of an indolent opposition and the last kick of a dying horse.
The statement said the opposition in Enugu had since come to terms with the fact that they had no prospects in the 2023 governorship election and resorted to smearing campaigns.
According to Ogbodo, there is no truth whatsoever to the allegation.
“Our attention has been drawn to a press conference by a faceless group in Abuja, which claimed to have conducted a check at the NYSC under the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
“The check purportedly showed that our governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Mbah, submitted a forged NYSC certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“We make bold to say that Mbah was duly mobilised for the one-year mandatory National Youth Service in Lagos in 2002, duly completed the exercise, and was issued with an NYSC discharge certificate.
“We state unequivocally that these purveyors of malicious falsehood are the real forgers, as everything about the letter they claimed to have emanated from the NYSC bears all the imprimaturs of forgery.
“The language too inelegant and unofficial to have emanated from the NYSC. We have equally observed that the said malicious press statement was not signed by any official of the faceless group.”
The campaign group further called on media organisations and interested Nigerians to approach the NYSC to confirm the veracity of the purported letter.
“We are however, taking steps in accordance with the provisions of the law to bring the perpetrators to book,” it said.
“The Enugu PDP Campaign Council recalled that the opposition had tried their hands in other malicious and criminal falsehoods, including forgery of court processes to malign and bring down Dr. Peter Mbah.
“Rather than present and market their manifestos to the Enugu electorate, they had earlier forged court processes. They filed frivolous and malicious lawsuits claiming that Mbah had entered into a plea of guilt and plea bargain, hence not qualified to stand for election.
“We call on the Nigerian public to disregard this latest perfidy as the umpteenth mischief by an indolent opposition and last kick of a dying horse.”
