A civil society group, the Justice and Equity Alliance, has described as false, the accusation of certificate discrepancy made against the Acting Director General of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs Mariel RAE-Omoh, dismissing it as “character assassination”.

In a statement signed by its Coordinator, Mallam Garba Imam, and issued in Abuja on Saturday, the group said its investigation in the last one week confirmed that the agency head duly attended a tertiary institution in Italy under a Federal Government scholarship in 1980 alongside other Nigerians to bag Higher National Diploma in Tourism and Hotel Administration.

“The translation of the certification was officially done and the Italian consulate attested to the genuineness of both the school and the certificate. The said school still exists in Italy and the records of scholarship approval are still available at the Lagos office of the Federal Ministry of Education.

“She proceeded to serve the nation under NYSC as well as bagging her Masters degree in the same field in Nigeria. It is false to allege that a graduate who studied under federal scholarship has no certificate,” the statement noted.

It reads further: “Are those peddling the rumour implying that the Federal Government sent so many Nigerians to an Italian school that does not exist? At the Italian consulate during our investigation, the consular officer also attended the same school while another lady said she enjoyed the scholarship in 1970.

“We call on the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to get its facts right instead of acting on rumours and innuendoes. Mrs Omoh is too cool and responsible to be involved in any unwholesome activities. Her appointment was done after due vetting and changing the decision of Mr President under false pretext is a threat to the change agenda.”

While praising Mrs Omoh for her reform efforts since she was appointed, the group warned that agents of backwardness are behind the false accusation, urging the Minister of Information to be careful of enemies of government lurking around the corridors of powers.