The former southeast spokesman to President Bola Tinubu, Denge. Josef Onoh has told former vice President Atiku Abubakar his commentary on the resigned minister for Innovation Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji was a hypothetical outburst lacing in morality.
Atiku had condemned the Federal Government over the certificate forgery allegation against Nnaji, saying that what should have been a national shame was disguised as voluntary resignation.
Onoh in a statement in Abuja said Atiku’s statement was a tirade against President Tinubu and his administration, adding that Atiku exhibits desperate political ploy and grotesque display of hypocrisy.
He accused Atiku of an ugly past and ethical lapses that would make any true patriot recoil in disgust.
“How dare you pontificate on moral crises, while your past reeks of scandals that have repeatedly stained Nigeria’s public trust? The audacity is breathtaking. As a private citizen with no stake in the corridors of power you invited moral burden, you lack the moral authority, nay, the basic integrity, to lecture anyone on deception or accountability. Your words are not a clarion call for justice; they are the hollow echoes of a perennial loser grasping at straws to distract from his own irrelevance.
“Let us dissect your sanctimonious statement with the cold precision it deserves, grounded firmly in the immutable provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). You feign outrage over Mr. Nnaji’s voluntary resignation, claiming it masks a national shame and that he should have been summarily dismissed and prosecuted, yet, you conveniently ignore that President Tinubu’s swift acceptance of the resignation barely 72 hours after credible investigative reports surfaced, demonstrates precisely the accountability you pretend to champion,” Onoh admonished.
He stated that under Section 147(1) of the Constitution, the President has the unfettered discretion to appoint and remove ministers at his pleasure, subject only to Senate confirmation for appointments,, which placed no constitutional bar against resignation as a dignified exit.
He said that the President’s action aligns with the ethical imperatives of public service outlined in the Fifth Schedule, Part I (Code of Conduct for Public Officers), which emphasizes integrity and avoidance of conflicts that erode public confidence.
He stressed that Nnaji’s prompt exit, prompted by a thorough media investigation, revealing discrepancies in his University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree and NYSC certificate, upholds the public service code which the University of Nigeria confirmed that Nnaji never graduated, and NYSC disavowed his discharge certificate—facts that triggered his resignation on October 7, 2025, without the need for protracted drama.
“You demand prosecution? Fine, let the wheels of justice turn. The Criminal Code Act (applicable in southern Nigeria, including Enugu where Mr. Nnaji hails from) under Sections 465-467 criminalizes forgery of official documents, punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. The Penal Code (northern equivalent) mirrors this in Sections 362-366. Additionally, the Fifth Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 11 mandates asset and credential declarations, with breaches constituting ‘misconduct’ under Paragraph 3(d), including false declaration of assets and liabilities.
“If investigations by the EFCC or ICPC—agencies you once undermined—uncover intent, prosecution will follow, as it should for any public officer. But your selective amnesia is telling: Where was this zeal when your own allies forged paths through similar shadows? President Tinubu’s administration has not condoned forgery as state policy. It has enforced accountability, unlike the Obasanjo era you helped orchestrate, where scandals festered under your watch.
“Now, to the heart of your hypocrisy: You smear President Tinubu as a man of questionable identity and alleged forgery, dredging up the Chicago State University (CSU) saga as if it were unresolved. The facts bury you here. In October 2023, following a U.S. court order you yourself petitioned for, CSU released President Tinubu’s full academic records, confirming he enrolled in August 1977, majored in Accounting, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in June 1979.
“The university’s registrar, Caleb Westberg, deposed under oath that the replacement certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC matches CSU’s 1979 format, as verified against seven contemporaneous diplomas. Section 131(1)(d) of the Constitution requires presidential candidates to be educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent—a threshold Tinubu not only meets but exceeds, as affirmed by CSU’s official transcripts and the Supreme Court’s dismissal of your petition in October 2023.
“Your contradictory claims under oath are fiction; the records show consistency in identity (Bola A. Tinubu) and attendance. The U.S. Supreme Court denied your appeal in 2024, closing this chapter. To persist is not advocacy—it’s defamation, prosecutable under Section 375 of the Criminal Code for false statements calculated to injure reputation.
“But oh, Atiku, the mirror you shatter reflects your own fractured visage far more cruelly. You, who accuse others of institutionalizing falsehood, stand as a monument to corruption that the Constitution abhors. Recall the Fifth Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 2: “A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties. You embodied this breach repeatedly. In 2006, as Vice President, a Senate ad-hoc committee indicted you for diverting over $145 million from PTDF funds to private interests, recommending prosecution—a grave violation of Paragraph 3(c) on bribery and corruption.
“The EFCC, under Nuhu Ribadu, declared you unfit for public office, echoing the Code of Conduct Tribunal’s mandate under Paragraph 18(1) to punish such “misconduct” with dismissal or bans. You fled to Dubai, only returning when political winds shifted.
“Fast-forward to 2010: A U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report exposed how your wife, Jennifer Douglas, laundered over $40 million in suspect funds into U.S. banks during your VP tenure—funds traced to Nigerian public coffers.
“This implicated you in money laundering, contravening Section 15(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and the Constitution’s anti-corruption ethos in Section 15(5). You were even linked to a bribery scandal that imprisoned U.S. Congressman William Jefferson, per the same report.
“Your 2023 presidential bid unearthed more rot: Whistleblower Michael Achimugu’s recordings revealed you boasting of siphoning N100 million from the Ecological Fund Office via Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) like Marine Float Limited—classic embezzlement under Section 308 of the Penal Code. HEDA petitioned the EFCC and CCB for probe; Festus Keyamo sued you at the Federal High Court (FHC/ABJ/CS/84/2023) to compel investigation. Even your son-in-law, Abdullahi Babalele, dodged money laundering charges in 2020 for funneling $140,000 to influence elections—echoes of your playbook. And let’s not forget the 1984 suitcases scandal: As Customs Area Comptroller, you waved through 53 undeclared suitcases of cash at Murtala Muhammed Airport, a blatant breach of fiduciary duty under the Code of Conduct.
“These are not whispers; they are documented indictments, Atiku. The Constitution’s Fifth Schedule, Paragraph 12, requires allegations of such breaches to go to the Code of Conduct Bureau—yet you evaded scrutiny time and again, shielded by political patronage. You call for an independent investigation into the FEC’s credentials, starting with Tinubu? Pot, meet kettle. The DSS’s clearance of nominees, including Nnaji, is a procedural lapse we own and have corrected—but your demand reeks of sabotage, not sincerity. Section 146(b) allows the President to fill vacancies swiftly; Tinubu has, appointing a substantive replacement without delay. Your pattern of sour grapes— from 2007 (when EFCC barred you) to 2023 (when you lost fairly)—exposes this as electioneering theater, not statesmanship.
“Nigerians see through you, Atiku. While President Tinubu builds on his verified credentials to steer Nigeria toward renewed hope, you peddle division from the sidelines. Retract your baseless smears, or better yet, submit yourself to the EFCC for the probes you dodged. Only then might your voice on morality ring less like a forgery itself. The Constitution demands better—from all of us. It starts with silencing hypocrites and statesman turned salesman like you,” Onoh berated.
