Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says that the Department of State Service, DSS, should be held accountable for the clearance of the immediate past Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.
Mr Abubakar stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja while reacting to Nnaji’s resignation as a member of the Federal Executive Council over alleged certificate forgery.
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Mr Nnaji, who was appointed as minister in August 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, tendered his resignation on Tuesday.
NAN also reports that the resignation was confirmed by the president’s Media Aide, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued on Tuesday, saying that Tinubu had accepted the Nnaji’s decision to quit the cabinet.
However, Mr Abubakar, in the statement, expressed concerns over the clearance of Nnaji by the DSS.
According to him, the failure of DSS to do due diligence has made Nigeria an object of ridicule, wondering how many more of such individuals are still occupying sensitive positions in the country.
Abubakar also faulted the “voluntary resignation” of Nnaji, saying that he shouldn’t have been allowed the courtesy of resignation.
“He should have been summarily dismissed and prosecuted for deceit and falsification,’’ he said.
The former vice-president said permitting Nnaji to quietly exit through the backdoor would aide other forgers, impostors and morally-bankrupt individuals masquerading as public servants.
“Until this cleansing is done, Nigeria will continue to sink deeper into moral decay, economic ruin and global embarrassment.
“The time has come to rescue our country from the grip of deceit and restore integrity to public life,’’ he said.
NAN