Expose Certificate Forgers in Power, Mahdi Shehu Tells Nigerians

Public affairs commentator and activist, Mahdi Shehu, has called for the immediate exposure of public officials and politicians allegedly parading forged academic certificates while holding key positions in government and the private sector.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Shehu said Nigeria’s leadership space has been overtaken by “academic impostors,” insisting that the time has come for citizens to name and shame those deceiving the public with fake credentials.

> “As it stands today, there are several Nigerians parading fake academic credentials and occupying various seats in government and the private sector, pretending to be big men while in the garb of criminals,” he wrote.

Shehu blamed the dominance of forgers in public offices for Nigeria’s slow development, noting that such individuals often go to great lengths to cover their tracks, thereby committing more crimes.

> “As long as we continue to have criminal forgers presiding over us, our society will continue to sink, stagnate and stink,” he said.

The outspoken activist urged Nigerians to discreetly share credible information or suspicious documents with investigative journalists, whistleblowers, and credible media organizations, saying the collective exposure of such officials would help restore integrity to public life.

> “One of the ways we can checkmate the menace of forgery, especially among desperate politicians, is to start mentioning the names of forgers that we know,” he added.

Shehu further revealed that he was in possession of forged academic certificates allegedly linked to three serving House of Representatives members, two senators, and a sitting governor from the North West.

He alleged that the politicians superimposed their names on genuine academic records belonging to other people, which they later submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the 2019 and 2023 elections.

> “They submitted the forged certificates to INEC, contested the 2019 and 2023 elections, and were declared winners,” he claimed.

The activist also called on Nigerians to carry out a credentials audit of their political representatives, ministers, governors, and heads of federal agencies, stressing that the outcome would expose the depth of forgery in public institutions.

> “Please, just spare some time to do a credentials audit of your representatives, governors, ministers, heads of MDAs, and all other pretenders. The outcome will shock you, and our society will be cleaner and more decent. You owe that duty to Nigeria,” he said.