A civil society group ,the Justice and Equity Alliance,has raised alarm
over false accusation of certificate discrepancy against the Acting
Director General of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation(NTDC),Mrs
Mariel RAE-Omoh,describing the development as “character assassination”
In a statement signed by its Coordinator,Mallam Garba Imam and issued in
Abuja on Saturday,the group said its investigation in the last one week
confirmed that the agency head duly attended a tertiary institution in
Italy under a Federal Government scholarship in 1980 alongside other
Nigerians to bag Higher National Diploma in Tourism and Hotel
Administration.
“The translation of the certification was officially done and the Italian
consulate attested to the genuineness of both the school and the
certificate. The said school still exists in Italy and the records of
scholarship approval are still available at the Lagos office of the Federal
Ministry of Education.
“She proceeded to serve the nation under NYSC as well as bagging her
Masters degree in the same field in Nigeria. It is false to allege that a
graduate who studied under federal scholarship has no certificate”,the
statement noted.
The statement reads further: “Are those peddling the rumour implying that
the Federal Government sent so many Nigerians to an Italian school that
does not exist? At the Italian consulate during our investigation,the
consular officer also attended the same school while another lady said she
enjoyed the scholarship in 1970.
“We call on the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to get its
facts right instead of acting on rumours and innuedoes .Mrs Omoh is too
cool and responsible to be involved in any unwholesome activities. Her
appointment was done after due vetting and changing the decision of Mr
President under false pretext is a threat to the change agenda “,the group
said.
While praising Mrs Omoh for her reform efforts since she was appointed ,the
group warned that agents of backwardness are behind the false
accusation,urging the Minister of Information to be careful of enemies of
government lurking around the corridors of powers.