Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other vetting agencies to thoroughly scrutinize candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that Nigeria risks further embarrassment if people with forged certificates are allowed to hold public office.
Obi alleged that several officeholders who emerged from the 2023 polls scaled through INEC, security agencies, and even Senate screenings with fraudulent credentials and affidavits.
“The process by which one gets to office is far more fundamental than what they do thereafter,” Obi said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Ibrahim Umar of the Peter Obi Media Research (POMR).
The former Anambra State governor stressed that certificate forgery is treated as a grave criminal offence in other countries but trivialised in Nigeria.
“Certificate forgery is a serious criminal offence in all countries of the world. It is one of the most corrupt practices heavily punished.
But in my country Nigeria, though the laws are same as in other countries, INEC makes no effort to scrutinize certificates before the elections. It overlooks complaints of forgery and, when challenged after the elections, courts dismiss these serious criminal issues as ‘pre-election matters’ without appropriate punishment,” Obi lamented.
He recalled a visit to Indonesia earlier this year where he engaged election officials, including the Chairman of the General Elections Commission, who told him that candidates with forged documents are immediately disqualified and prosecuted.
“If someone can forge a certificate, how can that person be trusted to lead others?” Obi quoted the Indonesian official as saying.
Calling for reforms, Obi proposed that all candidates — incumbents or fresh aspirants — must submit their academic certificates to INEC immediately after party primaries, at least six months before the polls. These documents, he said, should be published within 90 days for public verification.
He further demanded that the same process apply to appointees, including ministers and aides, noting that dishonesty at the top spreads to every level of governance.
“We must end the era where forgery and deceit are rewarded with power. Criminal offences should not be dismissed as a mere procedural matter. True leadership must begin with truth. A New Nigeria is POssible,” Obi declared.
