The Department of State Services (DSS) has raised concerns about the authenticity of Dr. Peter Mbah’s NYSC discharge certificate, who is the incumbent governor and the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate. They presented a report to the Enugu Election Petition Tribunal, criticizing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for an allegedly hasty and inadequate investigation that concluded the certificate was forged. According to the DSS, certificates from the same series as Mbah’s were issued to corps members in Lagos, contradicting the NYSC’s claims.
In response, the LP (Labour Party) disputed the report, arguing that it lacked the official letterhead and stamps of the DSS, suggesting it might not be an official document from the agency.
During the ongoing Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, the DSS Deputy Director of Operations and Strategic Department, presented a Statement on Oath to defend the authenticity of Mbah’s NYSC certificate. He stated that the NYSC misplaced Mbah’s original file and issued him a temporary one when he returned from Law School to complete his NYSC service.
Mohammed further explained that Mbah had initially served for six months before going to Law School. He then reapplied for reinstatement to complete his service, and a temporary file was used due to the inability to trace his original file. The DSS investigation revealed that the NYSC could not account for 12 certificates, including Mbah’s, as there were issues with their record-keeping system.
During cross-examination, the LP’s lead counsel noted that the DSS report lacked official letterhead and stamps. Mohammed clarified that his signature was sufficient. He also mentioned that he appeared in court because of a subpoena, not an authorizing letter from the DSS Director General.
The DSS official clarified that the report did not include attached documents as they were in his office. When questioned about Mbah’s tenure as the Chief of Staff to the former governor of Enugu State, he said it was not within his purview to investigate such matters.
Additionally, during the proceedings, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to present any witnesses to defend the allegations of electoral manipulation raised by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, concerning the 2023 governorship election that produced Peter Mbah as the governor.
