Reps panel summons Obono-Obla over forgery

A House of Representatives ad hoc panel have invited the Special Assistant to the President on Anti-Corruption and Chairman, Special Presidential Investigative Panel on the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, over allegations of forgery of his O’level certificate and letter-head of the SPIP.

Also to appear before the panel alongside Mr ObonoObla on June 5, 2018, are the managements of the University of Jos and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) according to the chairman of the panel “investigating the legality and otherwise of SPIP,” Aliyu Pategi (APC, Kwara).

Pategi said facts before the panel revealed that ObonoObla not only used a doctored WAEC result to gain admission into the law faculty of the University of Jos, but also had been using different letterhead papers to write to various countries of the world on behalf of SPIP, thereby making mockery of Nigeria and the anti-corruption stance of the Buhari administration.

He said such a character was not fit to hold any public office, especially that of fighting corruption.

“This is the fourth time this man has refused to appear before this panel under flimsy excuses. We are giving him the last chance to appear before this panel on June 5, failure of which a bench warrant would be issued against him,” Pategi said.

Two copies of letter-head papers allegedly used by ObonoObla in his correspondence with the panel and other agencies, which was also sighted by our reporter, showed that one bears “Special Presidential Investigative Panel” while the other bears “Presidency: Special Presidential Investigative Panel.”

However, SPIP Secretary, Mr Akingbolahan Adeniran, told the panel that the authentic letter-head of the panel was the one with “Special Presidential Investigative Panel.”

Also shown to reporters by the ad hoc panel was a copy of WAEC result, issued in 1982, which bears the name, Ofem Okoi Ofem, instead of Okoi Obono-Obla, with four credits, three F9s and absent in English Literature.

In reply to a letter from the ad hoc panel, dated April 5, 2018, with reference number, NASS/8HR/DCD/016/180/009, WAEC also confirmed the said statement of result with Examination number: 09403/247 for Ofem Okoi Ofem, not Okoi Obono-Obla.

The letter reads: “Please, find attached a confirmation copy of the statement of result in respect of Ofem Okoi Ofem 09403/247 at the May/June 1982 GCE Ordinary Level.”

“You may wish to note the disparity in the result, in respect of English Literature, where the candidate under reference was absent,” the letter said.