Former Southeast spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, Josef Onoh, has dismissed allegations by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the presidency is aiding cover-ups for corruption, calling the claims “desperate political mischief from a fringe party.”
The ADC had accused the president of displaying “sympathy for criminality and weak response to integrity breaches” following the resignation of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, over alleged certificate forgery. But Onoh said the allegations were baseless and distorted the true sequence of events.
“Let me first clarify the timeline and substance of the Uche Nnaji affair, which the ADC conveniently glosses over in their rush to judgment,” Onoh said. “Uche Nnaji, nominated as Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, faced scrutiny during his Senate confirmation hearings over discrepancies in his academic credentials. In a display of the self-correcting mechanisms inherent in our democratic institutions, verifications by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) revealed that the certificates presented were not issued by these bodies. Crucially, Nnaji himself acknowledged this in court filings, demonstrating candor rather than concealment.”
Onoh stressed that instead of protecting Nnaji, the President acted decisively.
“Rather than stonewall or defend the indefensible, a tactic all too familiar in opposition circles, Nnaji proactively tendered his resignation. President Tinubu, in line with his administration’s zero-tolerance stance on impropriety, accepted the resignation without delay. This was not a quiet shuffle or a backroom deal; it was a public affirmation that no one was above the law.”
Onoh described the ADC’s allegations of “cover-up” as defamatory.
“The ADC’s assertion that this acceptance gives an impression of sympathy is a figment of the party’s imagination untethered from reality. On the contrary, it underscores the President’s efficiency in removing unfit elements from public office, preventing further embarrassment to the nation,” he stated.
He emphasized that the President had exercised his constitutional prerogative appropriately under Section 147(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers him to appoint and remove ministers as exigencies demand.
“This discretion is not absolute but is bounded by the principles of good governance and accountability, which President Tinubu has consistently upheld,” Onoh explained. “Furthermore, Section 11 of the Third Schedule Part I outlines the Senate’s role in confirmation but does not mandate executive retention post-confirmation if new facts emerge. The President’s acceptance of a resignation is a legitimate exercise of executive prerogative, akin to the ‘pleasure doctrine’ under Section 141.”
Citing the Supreme Court ruling in A.G. Federation v. A.G. Lagos State (2013), Onoh said the President’s prompt action was in line with the law and aimed at protecting public trust.
He also rejected ADC’s calls for “a tougher stance,” describing them as a misunderstanding of the separation of powers.
“The executive appoints and removes; it does not prosecute,” Onoh noted. “That remit belongs to the judiciary and independent agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). President Tinubu’s administration has empowered these bodies—evidenced by over 5,000 convictions under his watch since 2023—rather than micromanaging them for partisan gain.”
He further explained that allegations of forgery fall under Sections 465–467 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 22 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, stressing that prosecution must follow due process, not mob justice.
“Nnaji’s resignation does not immunize him; it merely shifts him from public office to private citizen status, where agencies like the EFCC can pursue charges unencumbered by executive privilege,” Onoh clarified. “The ADC’s alternative—executive-orchestrated ‘tough stances’—would violate Section 4(8) of the Constitution, which limits legislative oversight to appropriation, not prosecutorial direction.”
He accused ADC of hypocrisy, pointing to unresolved allegations within its ranks during the 2023 elections.
“The ADC’s claim of a ‘troubling pattern’ of certificate scandals under the APC is a tired trope,” Onoh said. “Under President Tinubu, the administration has digitized credential verification for all appointees via the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) integration, a reform lauded by the World Bank in its 2025 Governance Report.”
Onoh also highlighted Tinubu’s anti-corruption achievements, including the recovery of over ₦2 trillion in assets and the implementation of the Steve Oronsaye Report to reduce bureaucratic waste.
“The Uche Nnaji episode is an aberration corrected swiftly, not a systemic flaw,” he said. “The ADC’s silence on their own governance failures, most especially within their party that they can’t control, speaks volumes.”
Concluding his remarks, Onoh called on Nigerians to ignore what he described as “partisan noise.”
> “President Tinubu is not sympathetic to criminality; he is resolute against it, guided by constitutional fidelity and legal rigor. The Uche Nnaji resignation was a masterclass in accountable leadership: remove the unfit, empower institutions, and let justice prevail,” he declared.
“Should further details emerge warranting investigation, rest assured the administration will act decisively. But for now, let us celebrate a president who governs by the book, not by the ballot’s bitterness,” Onoh added.
