The Editor-in-Chief and Chief Working Officer of Premium Occasions, Musikilu Mojeed, has narrated how a whistleblower helped the newspaper to uncover the certificates forgery by the Minister of Science and Know-how, Uche Nnaji.
Mr Mojeed spoke on Tuesday night time when he appeared as a visitor on Channels TV’s Politics At the moment.
A painstaking two-year investigation revealed by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday revealed that Mr Nnaji cast his diploma and NYSC certificates, which he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate throughout his ministerial affirmation in 2023.
The politician has now resigned from his place as Nigeria’s minister of innovation, science, and expertise.
How we bought wind of the scandal
Talking on the TV programme, Mr Mojeed stated an nameless whistleblower contacted PREMIUM TIMES by the newspaper’s newsroom e-mail, alerting it to discrepancies in Mr Nnaji’s certificates in addition to urging an investigation.
“The whistleblower, she or he, was assured that if we did a diligent investigation, we’d be capable of uncover one thing stunning. And we took up the problem, after which we began engaged on it. In 2023, we began engaged on it,” he acknowledged.
The PREMIUM TIMES editor stated the newspaper’s administration assigned the story to reporters upon receipt of the tip-off from the whistleblower.
“We had no battle with the minister. We didn’t know him. However for us, this isn’t the primary time.
“Our power is investigation. All people is aware of our newsroom for that. And when a matter is introduced earlier than us, we examine,” he stated.
“Generally, we discover issues which are indicting; generally, we don’t. But it surely’s our job as journalists, particularly as required of us by the structure, to carry energy to account, which is what now we have performed right here.”
Mr Mojeed then detailed how the newspaper carried out the investigation, sending FOI requests to the College of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), the place Mr Nnaji attended and the NYSC authorities, and reviewing a number of paperwork, and unsuccessfully in search of clarifications from Mr Nnaji.
He recalled that, in the course of the course of, UNN initially failed to answer the primary FOI request submitted on 1 February 2024. He stated he later understood that the failure was attributable to events decided to frustrate the investigation.
“We couldn’t make progress with the investigation. Till we realized that in August, there’s a new management on the college. We determined to attempt once more. Initially, we wrote to only the registrar, however in our second try, we wrote to each the vice-chancellor and the registrar individually. We determined this time to courier the letter to every of them individually, which was what we did,” Mr Mojeed narrated.
“Fortunately for us, the vice chancellor responded. And simply as we speak, the registrar simply responded, affirming the identical factor that the vice-chancellor advised us. So, that was how we labored on that.”
Premium Occasions to sue Nnaji’s spokesperson
Earlier on Tuesday, Robert Ngwu, the spokesperson to Mr Nnaji, falsely accused PREMIUM TIMES of amassing N100 million bribe from the Enugu State Authorities to do the report.
However reacting, Mr Mojeed stated the newspaper would sue Mr Ngwu for the allegations, insisting the media organisation wouldn’t permit anybody to malign it.
“We aren’t a newspaper that you would be able to unduly malign. We’ve constructed our integrity for shut to fifteen years. We’ve performed numerous nice tales, and nobody has ever accused us of that.
“Individuals know us for that. Our apply is constructed solely on integrity, and never even a Robert Ngwu or Uche Nnaji can destroy it,” he stated, declaring that the newspaper’s legal professionals have been reviewing Mr Ngwu’s feedback.
“He (Ngwu) will carry his proof and inform us how the cash was given and the way it was obtained.”
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Certificates Forgery: Embattled Minister Uche Nnaji resigns after PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation
Background
Allegations of certificates forgery had dogged Mr Nnaji since July 2023 when President Tinubu named him among the many first batch of 28 ministerial nominees from 25 states forwarded to the Senate as a part of the president’s preliminary cupboard checklist, two months after taking workplace on 29 Could 2023.
Critics had lengthy insisted that Mr Nnaji didn’t full his college training and that each the bachelor’s diploma and NYSC certificates he offered to President Tinubu, in addition to to the places of work of the Secretary to the Authorities of the Federation, the State Safety Service, and the Senate, have been cast.
The findings of PREMIUM TIMES’ intensive examination of the paperwork have been damning and conclusive: each the diploma certificates and the NYSC discharge certificates within the minister’s possession are outright forgeries.
This newspaper reported on Sunday that the then-minister had admitted that UNN by no means issued him a level certificates.
Many Nigerians have expressed outrage over the then-minister’s certificates forgery.
On Monday, Mr Nnaji was absent from a press convention his workplace referred to as to handle the matter. His aides, nevertheless, appeared on his behalf throughout which they made unsubstantiated claims, together with the declare that the then-minister certainly graduated from UNN.
PREMIUM TIMES later revealed paperwork displaying that on the time Mr Nnaji claimed to have graduated from UNN and purportedly proceeded to take part within the obligatory NYSC, he was nonetheless exchanging correspondence with the establishment on how he might re-sit a failed terminal course examination.
Following the findings of the investigation, the politician resigned his appointment on Tuesday night.
