Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of running an administration rooted in deceit and forgery, saying dishonesty has become a state policy under his leadership.
Atiku’s statement came after the resignation of Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, following a Premium Times investigation that exposed a forged University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree certificate he presented during screening.
The report revealed that UNN had never issued Nnaji any certificate, forcing his resignation on Tuesday. However, the Federal Government described his exit as “voluntary,” a claim that sparked public outrage.
Reacting, Atiku, in a statement titled “Forgery As State Policy: Tinubu, His Cabinet, And The DSS Must Be Held Accountable,” said the development exposed a deep moral crisis within the Tinubu administration and revealed its hypocrisy on anti-corruption.
He condemned the government’s attempt to whitewash the scandal, arguing that Nnaji should have been dismissed and prosecuted rather than allowed to resign quietly. Atiku described the administration as “an assembly of forgers, impostors, and morally bankrupt individuals masquerading as public servants.”
Atiku also criticized the Department of State Services (DSS) for clearing Nnaji despite rejecting other nominees on security grounds, calling it a “national disgrace.” He said the DSS’s failure to conduct proper checks embarrassed Nigeria before the world.
The former vice president further linked the scandal to a broader pattern of deception allegedly starting from Tinubu himself, citing long-standing controversies over the President’s identity, age, and academic records.
He said, “When a man of questionable identity leads a country, deception becomes the standard of governance.”
Atiku called for an independent and transparent probe into the academic and professional records of all cabinet members—beginning with President Tinubu. He warned that without moral and institutional cleansing, Nigeria risked deeper moral decay and global embarrassment.
