NYSC Certificate: Resign now, CACOL tells Stella Oduah

 

LAGOS, Nigeria – The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has challenged the lawmaker representing Anambra-North senatorial district, Stella Oduah to resign if she cannot respond to the allegation of perjury leveled against her.

CACOL, in a statement signed by the group’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of its Chairman, Debo Adeniran said, “It is no longer news that Stella Oduah did not complete the mandatory National Youth Service. In a letter by the Director-General of the NYSC which was signed on his behalf by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, the agency said Oduah commenced her NYSC programme in 1982 but absconded. The letter was in response to an inquiry by a group known as the Concerned Anambra North PDP Stakeholders.

It was reported that in her CF001 forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2019, Oduah claimed that she completed her NYSC but her certificate was missing along with other credentials.

An affidavit she deposed to read in part, “Sometime in 2010 while in transit from Akili Ozizor in Ogbaru local government area to Abuja, I discovered that some of my personal belongings were missing. “The missing documents are the originals of my West African School Certificate of 1978 from Zixon Secondary School Ozubulu, First School Leaving Certificate from St. John Odoakpu Onitsha; Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Certificate 1982 from St. Paul’s College Lawrence Virginia USA; National Youth Service Corps certificate 1983, national identity card, United States of America Social Security card with numbers in it.”

If she absconded from service where on earth did she see the NYSC certificate she claimed and swore on oath that is missing? Did she print the certificate by herself? Did she lie on oath? This even to a layman is known as perjury.

The CACOL Head further stated that, “What should not be encouraged, under any guise, is a reign of impunity as the country steers towards consolidation of its democratic culture. This scandal in which Mrs Stella Oduah is currently enmeshed is another major, monumental and massive disgrace not only to the hallowed chamber of the Senate where she is currently representing her constituency but to the country at large.

“It is saddening to note that it’s fast becoming a norm for public office holders and representatives of the people to parade fake credentials and with brazen arrogance and confidence still go ahead to swear on oath with bogus credentials in their possession. Although, we know that a Federal High Court had already ruled that possessing an NYSC certificate was not a condition for holding public office but what happened in a situation whereby the person lied on oath”.

“We at CACOL hereby call on the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party, headed by Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to immediately disqualify Oduah who has been screened to contest in the primary from contesting”.

“We also want to implore our election monitoring body, INEC, to intensify the process of screening political aspirants before they are cleared to contest elections. A joint and collaborative effort of all the security agencies would have helped to nip a national embarrassment like this in the bud”.

“Our current situation as a nation demands that public officers and representatives of the people should be seen to be above board and not people who are inclined to crime. It is in this regard that we, therefore, call on the lawmaker representing Anambra-North senatorial district, Stella Oduah to resign with immediate effect and we are also calling on the anti-graft agencies to start her prosecution without further delay”.