Denge Onoh, former South-East spokesman to President Bola Tinubu, has exonerated the Department for State Services, DSS, of any blame regarding the screening of the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Onoh stressed that the act of consistently asking nominees for public office to go for DSS screening is wrong and a total abuse of the functions of the organization which he said should be stopped immediately.

He urged Nigeria to step up to a globally accepted practice and grow beyond the third world country practices.

According to him, involving the DSS was a practice by the military junta because the Constitution was suspended, adding that 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.

The former presidential spokesman emphasised 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 such that the President nominates individuals for offices like 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.”

“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,” he stressed.

Certificate scandal: It’s wrong to ask DSS to screen public office nominees – Onoh