Cross River Information Commissioner in Certificate Scandal

Cross River Information Commissioner in Certificate Scandal Facts have emerged that the Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Akin Ricketts did not present genuine documents to earn his appointment as a commissioner in the state. A law firm, Okimasi Ojong & Co, in a petition to the state governor Liyel Imoke, is demanding an investigation into the certificates the commissioner claimed to have received. In the petition dated March 5, obtained by crossriverwatch, the firm said it was acting on the express instructions of Abubakar Efoli of Yakurr Local Government Area. The firm said the investigation has become necessary because it has in its possession evidence that the certificates being paraded by Ricketts may have been forged. The petition further alleged that, the Institute of Mass Communication Technology, Plateau State, from where the commissioner claimed to have his National Diploma and Higher National Diploma does not exist. The petition reads in part: “Akin A. Ricketts as a public servant, did not graduate nor did he attend any school as he claimed during his screening and credential submission. He claimed to have graduated from the Institute of Mass Communication Technology, Jos, with a Diploma and Higher National Diploma in 1986-1989 as contained in his attached credentials. This prompted immediate investigation wherein the Plateau State Government through the Ministry of Education quickly refuted his claim by a replied letter dated March 1, 2013.” Crossriverwatch investigations however reveal that the Institute of Mass Communication Technology, Jos, may have existed at some time in the past before it became defunct, but the school and its certificates were never recognized or accredited by any relevant government agency like the Plateau State Ministry of Education and National Board for Technical Education which is responsible for accrediting Diploma awarding institutions in the country. In a reply to crossriver.