CSO Commends DSS for Clearing Air on Mbah’s NYSC Certificate

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

A civil society organisation, Enugu Good Governance Group (E-3G), has commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for clearing the air on the discharge certificate controversy between the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State.

The group however, urged Mbah to pursue his N20 billion lawsuit against the NYSC for alleged conspiracy, deceit, and misrepresentation of facts while also demanded an unreserved public apology by the NYSC to the people of Enugu State for willful defamation of the state’s number one citizen. 

In a statement yesterday, the National Coordinator of E-3G, Odinaka Okechukwu, said the NYSC’s “ineptitude, shoddy investigation, cover-up and compromise,” by implication impinged on the reputation of the whole state.

He alleged that the NYSC was a metaphor for rots in the nation’s public institutions, wondering how many ordinary Nigerians might have had their prospects truncated by the agency’s alleged negligence, poor record keeping, and lack of accountability.

DSS investigation into the certificate saga as rendered in the statement on oath and evidence adduced by its subpoenaed witness, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, before the Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, had shown Mbah’s initial file with the NYSC got missing at some point prompting the agency to start using a temporary file for him.

The DSS had averred that in NYSC’s response to Mbah’s application for deferment of his service to enable him return to the Nigerian Law School for his Bar Final programme, the file number was LA/10/1532, while in their response to his request, the file number was LA/01/1532/T, with ‘T’ standing for temporary file.

In its reaction, the CSO said the NYSC as recommended by the DSS, should retract its letters disclaiming Mbah’s discharge certificate as well as explain how 12 certificates with serial numbers A808297 to A808308 were still unaccounted for and also trace the said certificates.

The group threatened to mobilise the people of Enugu State to file a class action against the NYSC if the agency fails to apologise accordingly.