A civil society group has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ask both the Attorney-General of the Federation and Council of Legal Education (CLE) to probe the certificate scandal involving Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Benjamin Okezie Kalu.

In an open letter to the President seen by CITY LAWYER, the group stated that the controversy trailing Kalu’s alleged participation in the National Youth Sercice Corps (NYSC) programme and attendance of the Nigerian Law School at the same time “has raised grave public concern and now demands principled intervention by the highest levels of government.”

Signed by one Chidi Ubabuaku for Abia Political Network (APN), the open letter stated that “Where credible facts suggest that a certificate may have been obtained or retained on the strength of a declaration later contradicted by conduct, the issue becomes one of whether the holder was, and remains, a fit and proper person to enjoy that credential.”

Continuing, the group wrote: “Your Excellency, public office is a trust, and trust cannot survive where integrity is treated as optional. A person who occupies the high constitutional office of Deputy Speaker must be held to a stricter standard, not a lower one. The leadership of the National Assembly must remain above documentary controversy touching on truthfulness, candour, and compliance with the ethical rules of the legal profession.”

Noting that “this is a defining moment” for the Tinubu Administration “to affirm that integrity matters, that the legal profession must remain anchored in honour, and that no office holder is above ethical examination,” the group urged that “The Attorney-General of the Federation and the Council of Legal Education must be encouraged to act not in fear, not in favour, but in fidelity to truth, justice, and the public interest.

“If the facts establish that the declaration was breached, then the proper and honourable course is clear: the qualifying certificate should be withdrawn, and the nation should be assured that neither political status nor high office can override the foundational requirement of being fit and proper.

“We respectfully urge Your Excellecy to stand on the side of integrity and to ensure that the institutions charged with defending the credibility of legal education and public morality do the right thing.”

Kalu denies any wrongdoing.

It was unclear at press time whether the President has responded to the request by the civil society group.