The former Southeast spokesman to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has exonerated the Department of State Services (DSS) of any blame regarding the screening of the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji.
Onoh, while addressing newsmen in Abuja, said that the act of consistently asking nominees for public office to undergo DSS screening is wrong and a total abuse of the functions of the organisation, which he said should be stopped immediately.
He advocates that Nigeria should adopt globally accepted practices and grow beyond third-world country approaches. Involving the DSS was a practice of the military junta because the Constitution was suspended. Hence, the unconstitutional act became normalised and continued by the democratic government.
“It is not the constitutional duty of the Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS) to screen the educational qualifications of a president’s nominee for public office,” Onoh maintained.
He stressed that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) does not assign such responsibility to the DSS, but instead, the Constitution outlines distinct roles whereby the President nominates individuals for offices such as ministers (under Sections 147 and 154), and the Senate conducts the formal screening and confirmation process to assess suitability, including qualifications.
“Educational credentials for such nominees are typically verified by the issuing institutions (e.g., universities) or through Senate inquiries during hearings, not by the DSS.”
Referring to the constitutional framework, he said that the DSS’s mandate is established under the National Security Agencies Act (Cap N74 LFN 2004).
“The DSS’s core functions focus on internal security, counterintelligence, and protecting senior officials, such as preventing crimes threatening national security. The Nigerian Constitution does not explicitly detail DSS duties but embeds them within broader executive powers (Section 5). It does not include vetting educational qualifications as a statutory obligation.”
Onoh said that the nominee screening process under Section 147(2) requires Senate confirmation for ministerial nominees within 21 days, emphasising the legislature’s role in evaluating fitness.
“The Senate Rules (Order 44) guide this, often involving CV reviews, asset declarations (per Section 149), and public hearings where qualifications like degrees or NYSC certificates are probed. Past controversies (e.g., allegations against nominees like Kemi Adeosun or Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo) were handled via Senate scrutiny and institutional verifications, not DSS-led probes.”
He maintained that the role of the DSS in educational screening of public office nominees is an act of practice versus the Constitution, because in practice, the executive (via the President’s office) often requests informal security clearances from the DSS for nominees, which may incidentally touch on credentials if they raise security red flags such as forgery linked to fraud.
“Examples include the DSS clearances for 2024 ministerial nominees like Bianca Ojukwu, signalling no security objections before Senate screening. Historical cases, such as the 2015 Buhari administration sending lists to the DSS for preliminary checks, also exist. However, these are administrative conveniences, not constitutional imperatives.”
Onoh gave instances of DSS involvement in non-security screenings, such as Senior Advocate of Nigeria elevations. He said that such expansions exceed the DSS’s statutory scope under the NSA Act, potentially violating ultra vires principles. The Constitution prioritises Senate oversight to prevent executive overreach.
“If a nominee’s educational qualifications are in doubt, the Senate can demand direct evidence from bodies like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or universities, as seen in the 2023 Tinubu cabinet screenings where three nominees faced delays over certificate verifications.
“Even the US Secret Service does not screen educational qualifications of a President’s nominees for public office. Its primary role is protective and investigative, focusing on the safety of the President, Vice President, candidates, and other designated individuals under 18 U.S.C. § 3056, as well as financial crimes like counterfeiting.
“Background checks for nominees are handled by other agencies, such as the FBI, and educational verification is typically done by the nominating President’s White House staff, the Office of Presidential Personnel, or Senate confirmation committees.
“For instance, the Secret Service’s background investigations apply to its own applicants (e.g., for special agent roles, which include education reviews for hiring qualifications), but not to public office nominees. Nominees undergo separate vetting through the Senate’s confirmation process, where educational credentials are examined as part of ethics and qualification reviews, but this is unrelated to the Secret Service.
“Nigeria can never progress as a country if all organs of government continue to engage in wrong procedural acts that undermine the Constitution,” Onoh added.
