An allegation of forgery of a National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) certificate against Bayelsa State’s new Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has prompted the Abuja Area Court to direct the Department of State Services (DSS) to conduct an investigation.
This controversy emerged in the aftermath of the nullification of the election of David Lyon as the Governor of Bayelsa State, which resulted from the disqualification of his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, for presenting forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court’s decision to investigate Ewhrudjakpo came after a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Benjamin Youdiowei, brought forward allegations that Ewhrudjakpo had presented a forged NYSC certificate to INEC.
According to Youdiowei, the alleged forged NYSC Exemption Certificate is dated February 2, 1998, and bears the number 139708.
Justice Abubakar Sadiq, who issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the deputy governor in November 2019 for failure to appear in court, directed the DSS to carry out the investigation. Additionally, he also instructed the police to look into the matter concerning Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.