A coalition of civil society groups has called on President Bola Tinubu to suspend the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over alleged irregularities in his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
The groups, in a petition submitted to the Presidency on Tuesday, urged the president to allow an independent probe into what they described as “a constitutional and ethical matter that strikes at the very heart of integrity, justice, and public accountability.”
The letter, addressed to President Tinubu through his Chief of Staff, also copied the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The coalition insisted that no government official should be exempted from scrutiny, especially on issues involving public trust.
According to the petition, Tunji-Ojo was first mobilised for NYSC in 2006 at the age of 24 but allegedly failed to complete the one-year mandatory service. The NYSC, they claimed, later confirmed that the minister did not finish the programme.
Thirteen years later, in 2019, the minister was said to have been re-mobilised to conclude his service year. However, at that same time, he was serving in the National Assembly as a member representing Akoko North-East/North-West Federal Constituency of Ondo State.
The groups said this amounted to holding two public positions, which contravenes the constitution.
They added that despite completing the service in 2020, Tunji-Ojo did not receive any discharge certificate until 2023 — when a new certificate allegedly appeared, signed by an NYSC Director-General who was not in office during that period.
The NYSC had reportedly explained that the minister’s name was “omitted during printing,” a response the petitioners dismissed as “suspicious, irregular, and inconsistent with established NYSC administrative procedures.”
The coalition cited several legal breaches, including Sections 2 and 13 of the NYSC Act, which criminalise absconding from service or possessing forged certificates.
They also referenced constitutional provisions that forbid public officers from drawing salaries from more than one office, as well as sections of the ICPC Act that punish such conduct with up to seven years’ imprisonment.
“If Tunji-Ojo indeed served as a federal lawmaker while participating in the NYSC scheme, it would amount to an abuse of office, conflict of interest, and violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers,” the petition read.
They accused the federal government of selective justice, recalling how a minister from the South-East was made to resign over certificate issues.
“Just as a minister from the eastern part of Nigeria was asked to resign pending investigation over certificate irregularities, the same standard of accountability must apply to Minister Bunmi Tunji-Ojo,” the coalition said. “Justice must not wear ethnic or political colours.”
Among their demands, the groups called for Tunji-Ojo’s immediate suspension to allow for a fair investigation. They also urged the Presidency to direct the NYSC, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau to verify the authenticity of the 2023 certificate, and for the National Assembly to probe any possible double remuneration between 2019 and 2020.
They maintained that the issue was not political but a test of national integrity. “This is not merely about Bunmi Tunji-Ojo — it is about whether the rule of law still governs our democracy,” the petition stated.
The petitioners urged President Tinubu to act “decisively for history, for justice, and for Nigeria.”
Nevertheless, this latest controversy comes months after Former Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji was forced to resign over certificate forgery allegations with the University of Nigeria Nsukka.