COVER
Mbah: NYSC Certificate Saga Threat to National Security – LP
By Jude Opara, Abuja
A Labour Party( LP) affiliated group – Labour Party Coalition for Good Governance has raised the alarm over what it described as desperate moves by the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah over the fog surrounding his discharge certificate from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The group warned that if not checked, Mbah’s moves posed a national security threat, just as it was cable of destroying a major national institution such as NYSC.
Spokesman of Coalition, Ken Asogwa, in a Press conference in Abuja, said it was a grave concern that Mbah was adopting unorthodox tactics to cover the allegation of certificate forgery and thereby keep himself in office.
The specifically alleged that Mbah was “shopping in a desperate attempt to illegally keep himself in power” in direct reference to court cases initiated by the Governor in Abuna and Enugu with intent to secure judgment that would stop the NYSC from proceeding with the injuries into his discharge certificate forgery allegation.
“You may recall that the newly sworn-in governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has been on a voyage of forum shopping in a desperate attempt to illegally keep himself in power.
“It is this desperation that has led him to different courts in both Enugu and Abuja, where he has made efforts to procure black market judgements to forestall the inquiry into how he procured the fake NYSC discharge certificate that he parades.
“In one of such desperate moves by Mbah, he made attempts to gag the NYSC by getting a pliant judge to issue him with a black market order that sought to abridge and erode the powers of the Enugu State Governorship Election Tribunal and the NYSC, constitutionally created bodies, from carrying out their statutory and constitutional functions.
“Since the revelation by the NYSC and its Director-General that the newly sworn-in governor of Enugu State, Mr. Peter Mbah, parades a forged NYSC discharge certificate, the governor has launched a syndicated campaign of calumny against the NYSC and its Director-General.
“At a time when the NYSC is celebrating 50 years of unblemished existence and service to Nigerians, Peter Mbah should be restrained by all well-meaning Nigerians before he destroys that revered institution.
“The above exhortation is vital given that the governor, like a bull in a China Shop, has a litany of inglorious past records of a penchant for the destruction of revered institutions of government,” Asogwa alleged at the press conference.
“You may recall that shortly after the exit of Peter Mbah as the Commissioner for Finance, Enugu State in 2007, the State Ministry of Finance office was gutted by fire in some circumstances that bore the imprimatur of an orchestrated plan designed to destroy evidence.
“Also kindly remember that when Chimaroke Nnamani, the former governor of the State, was charged with corruption, Mbah’s name was initially included by the EFCC after some rigorous and painstaking investigations that revealed that he had a case to answer in the mindless plundering of the State between 1999 and 2007.
“As a result, a 31-count charge was preferred against Mbah and his co-accused by the EFCC at the Federal High Court, Lagos. “However, how Mbah’s name was thereafter surreptitiously left out in the course of the prosecution still baffles the Enugu people.
“Again, during the fuel subsidy probe of the Jonathan administration, Peter Mbah and his Pinnacle Oil were invited by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on the probe of the fuel subsidy regime of that administration. Enugu people, to date, still consider how Peter Mbah eventually wriggled out of that probe as one of the wonders of this world.
“Currently, Peter Mbah is back in his elements, trying to destroy both the judiciary and the NYSC in a desperate bid to foist himself on the Enugu people who rejected him at the poll” the Group further alleged.
“In taking you back to memory lane, you may recall that Mbah’s NYSC saga blew open after the NYSC’s response to a Freedom of Information inquiry by a law firm into the validity of the discharge certificate Mr. Mbah submitted to the INEC.
“When the NYSC responded and repudiated the certificate, a non-governmental organization brought a direct criminal complaint of forgery of the NYSC Certificate against Mbah at the Zone 6 Magistrate Court.
“The court thereafter ordered the AIG Zone 7 to carry out an investigation on the authenticity of the said NYSC Certificate. The AIG, on his part, wrote to the NYSC to confirm the authenticity of the said NYSC Certificate.
“As can be gleaned from court filings made by the NYSC in response to Mbah’s suit against the Corps, it is evident that the NYSC had long responded to the Police inquiry by sending a letter that equally repudiated the discharge certificate to the office of the Inspector General of Police.
“Why the police have chosen not to respond to the Wuse Magistrate Court’s order still bears the hallmark of Mbah’s pattern of comprising every institution.
“Having set the above tone, we wish to forewarn Nigerians as follows:
“The implication of allowing Peter Mbah to destroy the NYSC, the way he had in the past destroyed other institutions of government, is that going forward, issuing authorities in Nigeria will no longer be the authority saddled with the responsibility of confirming the authenticity of certificates issued by them.
“For the straight understanding of Nigerians, the import of the dangerous game Peter Mbah is playing with his NYSC discharge certificate saga is that in the unlikely event that he succeeds in getting the court to validate his non-existent NYSC discharge certificate, all that is required by anyone is to go to a business center to forge certificate, or is to go to court to get an order validating the certificate and that way the certificate would be accepted as being authentic, irrespective of such certificate having not been issued by the appropriate issuing authority.
“We, therefore, urge Nigerians not to stand by and allow one desperate fellow to destroy the integrity of a national institution that has served Nigeria well since 1973,” the Group warned.
It said the NYSC needed “collective protection” from those it described as “desperate power scavengers” who acquired notoriety for the destruction of anything that stood in their while pursuing their ambition.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) has launched DAWN: DBN Action for Women in Nigeria, unveiled its Impact Report and presented MSME Data Assets at the seventh edition of Annual Lecture held in Abuja.
DBN, in a statement on Thursday, said while delivering a welcome address, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tony Okpanachi, said the central challenge was no longer reforms themselves but ensuring benefits reach businesses at end of the chain.
He asked how to make sure benefits reach traders in Onitsha, fabricator in Aba, farmer in Kebbi and young founder in Yaba, noting that MSMEs accounted for about half of Nigeria’s GDP and more than eight in every ten jobs, adding that when reform works for MSMEs it works for most Nigerians.
He explained that reform becomes prosperity only when entrepreneurs can act on it whether through long tenor loans to buy equipment, banks willing to take risk or skills and records needed to grow.
He said working through Participating Financial Institutions DBN provides longer term funding, partial credit guarantees through subsidiary Impact Credit Guarantee Limited and capacity building including Entrepreneurship Training Programme.
He disclosed that as at December 2025 DBN had disbursed a cumulative N1.4 trillion to MSMEs through 84 Participating Financial Institutions creating about 1.6 million jobs nationwide.
Under the new five year strategy, the Bank aims to reach more than two million MSMEs with deliberate targets for women led businesses, youth led businesses and underserved states.
On DAWN, Okpanachi said finance alone had not enabled enough women-led businesses to scale.
He said initiative brings together financing, guarantees and credit support, technical assistance, outcome linked grants and market linkages delivered through banks, microfinance institutions, fintechs, aggregators, cooperatives and direct channels.
Its priority sectors are agriculture and exports, healthcare, arts and creatives, technology and green business.
He said DAWN is about moving gender focused lending beyond intention and turning access into opportunity.
On the sidelines of the lecture DBN and African Development Bank held a signing ceremony of AfDB DBN 61 million United States dollars Gender Line of Credit development that reinforces Bank commitment to women led enterprises.
Okpanachi urged Participating Financial Institutions to extend lending into sectors and states where access to finance has been limited, policymakers and regulators to measure reform by what changes for business at end of chain and MSMEs to formalise, keep good records and use support now available.
The Vice President as Special Guest of Honour was represented by Dr Fred Iklaga Senior Technical Adviser in the Office of Special Adviser to the President on Economy.
Keynote speakers were Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Dr Karl Toriola, and Chairman of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Dr Segun Ogunsanya.
Fireside chat featured Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Abubakar Suleiman, manufacturing and trade entrepreneur Mrs Omoyemi Chukwurah and by video Kola Masha of Babban Gona.
The Secretary to the Government of Federation, represented by Augusta Warren Bekaredebo, said 2026 tax reforms would bring relief to many small businesses expressing optimism that a lot of businesses will be smiling by next year because they will be exempted from tax.
By Tambaya Julius, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened possible nationwide industrial action following the failure of talks with the Federal Government over workers’ welfare, petrol prices and other outstanding labour demands.
The warning came after a meeting between the government and organised labour at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja on Thursday, October 22, ended without an agreement.
The congress has given the Federal Government until Tuesday, October 27, to make meaningful progress on the issues, warning that its relevant organs would decide the next line of action if the next meeting fails to produce concrete commitments.
The NLC has also directed its affiliates, state councils and civil society allies to begin mobilising members for possible nationwide action.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the NLC Acting General Secretary, Benson Upah, expressed disappointment over what he described as the government delegation’s lack of preparedness for the negotiations.
According to the congress, organised labour presented its demands in good faith but left the meeting without any concrete commitments from the government.
The demands include a reduction in petrol prices to 2024 levels, renegotiation of the national minimum wage, implementation of agreed tax relief measures and resolution of the terms of settlement involving the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).
The congress also called for the resolution of issues raised by the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) over peculiar allowances, wage awards and hazard allowances.
The NLC said the government delegation lacked the necessary authority to engage meaningfully on the issues presented by labour representatives.
“The meeting between the Federal Government and organised labour, convened at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja on 22nd October 2026, has ended without resolution,” the statement said.
It added that the Minister of Labour requested that the meeting be adjourned until October 27 to allow the government to prepare adequately for further discussions.
The preparations, according to the statement, would include bringing relevant ministers and heads of departments and agencies to the negotiating table.
The congress said it remained open to dialogue but would not accept continued delays in addressing workers’ concerns.
“We will report back to our organs, and if no meaningful progress is made on Tuesday, the relevant organs of the NLC will decide the next line of action,” it said.
The labour body urged workers and members of the public to remain calm while the negotiations continue, even as it directed its affiliates and allies to prepare for possible industrial action.
“However, we urge all affiliates of NLC and TUC; all state councils and our civil society allies to be alert and start mobilising for a possible action across the nation while we hope that the tenets of our demands are met by the government,” the statement added.
The October 27 meeting is expected to provide another opportunity for both sides to address the outstanding issues and prevent a possible escalation of the dispute.
However, the NLC’s decision to begin mobilisation suggests that tensions could rise if the next round of talks fails to produce meaningful progress.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has barred its personnel from escorting politicians during campaigns for the 2027 general elections.
Zonal Commanding Officer, RS6, ACM Abimbola Owolabi, gave the directive during her maiden visit to the Cross River Command in Calabar on Wednesday.
Owolabi said patrol vehicles and sirens must not be used for political activities or private engagements, including weddings and funeral processions.
She directed officers deployed to campaign venues to focus exclusively on traffic management to prevent congestion and road crashes.
The zonal head warned personnel against leading political convoys or providing escorts for politicians, stressing that official vehicles must not be used for unauthorised purposes.
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