The letter of Appointment of the Enugu State Governor, Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, dated 14th July, 2003, which shows that he was appointed as Chief of Staff to then Enugu State Governor, Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani, is currently circulating in the social media.
The said letter with reference number: ENS/SSG/M.073/XIII/27, signed by Innocent M Agbo, KSP, then Secretary to the Enugu State Government (SSG), showed clearly that Mbah was already holding the top public office, at the same time he said he was doing his National Youth Service (NYSC).
The offer of appointment took retrospective effect from July 10, 2003, with emoluments indocsted to be applicable as similar officers listed as being in Category 5 of the Harmonised Salary Table for top public office holders in the state.
It was stamped as a “Certified True Copy”.
Although the purveyors of this letter sneaked into the social media space, Newsdesk Afrika is con inced that the intention was to debunk claims by the Governor regarding the authenticity of the NYSC Discharge Certificate he filed at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The certificate has been subject matter of litigation in a court cases against the Labour Party’s governorship candidate, Barr. Chijioke Edeoga, who is seeking to void Mbah’s declaration as the duly-elected Governor in last year’s election in Enugu State.
Also, the letter goes to the other suit filed by Mbah against the NYSC, in which he seeks to prove that he holds a genuine NYSC Discharge Certificate, amd to stop the Corps from disclaiming the certificate.
The letter of Appointment clearly disclosed that Barr. Mbah was the Chief of Staff in Enugu State at the same period he said he was performing the mandatory national service in Lagos.
Recall that one Isa Yahaya Mohammed, who said he is an Assitant Director at the Department of State Security (DSS) had on Wednesday, 19th July, 2023, at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu tendered a report of a purported investigation which cleared Mbah’s of forging the NYSC Certificate which the issuer (NYSC), had disclaimed.
Mohammed had told the court that he was not before the tribunal on the authority of Director-General, DSS, yet, tendered an undated “Report* of an investigation which neither had the official stamp of the DSS, nor was written on the letter headed paper of the DSS.
The letter on the face value lacked all the ingredients of an official correspondent.
The purported DSS officer said that the evidence earlier tendered at the Tribunal by one Ibrahim Adul Muhammed, Director, Corps Certification, NYSC, regarding Mbah’s Discharge Certificate with No. A808297 was riddled with errors and should be dismissed by the Tribunal.
Yahaya also took a swipe at the NYSC, describing it as an incredible institution which does not keep accurate record.
He was of the opinion that the NYSC Director should be investigated for dishonesty and breach of civil service rules.
The DG-NYSC had ver two months ago, at the nick of the controversy declared that the NYSC never at any time issued the contentious Diacharge Certificate to Gov. Mbah.
The emergence of Mbah’s Appointment letter as Chief of Staff, may have been to bring to the public domain evidence that Mbah could not have been working as Chief of Staff to the Governor and at the same time doing his mandstory one year NYSC programme in a Law Firm in Lagos.
