By Desire Emmanuel
The Senator representing Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has disclosed that the duty of the Senate is to screen candidates for positons and not to check their certificates.
Uzor Kalu disclosed this on Channels Television political programme on Wednesday while reacting to the certificate scandal involving the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Geoffrey Nnaji, who resigned recently.
Uzor Kalu was part of the Senate committee that screened the minister and other members of the President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet and cleared him and others.
However, speaking on the development, Uzor Kalu said the Senate is not supposed to look at the certificates of candidates for positons when screening them.
When Uzor Kalu was asked how the minister scaled through the screening, he said: “We are not supposed to be looking at certificates; our duty is to screen the candidates, not the certificates. The Senate did a very good job by screening him.”
When asked how someone with forged university degree and NYSC certificates got nominated for such a high position, Senator Uzor Kalu said his case is not the first in the world, adding that even in the United States, people in high positions are found with forged certificates.
He said: “His case will not be the first in the world. Even in the US Congress, there are people there whose university degrees were in dispute. I’m not saying it’s normal but I’m saying that it should not be what should be facing the coun
try now.”
