CSOs, Permanent Secretary bicker over allegations of forgery

The Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Mines and Steel, Mr. Edet Akpan, has described all the allegations of forgery and criminal information falsification made against him by the Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Justice, as a deliberate attempt to rubbish his hard earned reputation.

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Justice, has accused the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Mines and Steel, Mr. Edet Akpan, of forgery and criminal information falsification, allegations the latter described as a deliberate attempt to rubbish his hard earned reputation.

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Addressing a press briefing in Abuja, the Convener of the group, Comrade Ibrahim Dallah, alleged that Mr. Akpan was due for retirement two years ago but has remained in the service beyond his retirement age.

“According to available records, which is being investigated by Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for unduly long time now. Mr. Akpan joined the civil service in Akwa Ibom State where records is said to show that his original date of birth is 1958. He transferred his service to the Federal Government in 1999 with the same record. However, in his IPPIS, he entered his date of birth as 1962. This is a deliberate criminal falsification to help him overstay in service.

“For avoidance of doubt, without certificates to authenticate, Akpan is said to claim that he started his Education at Qua Iboe Science Secondary School (Etinan Institute) in 1965.”

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Mines and Steel, Mr. Edet Akpan, has denied all the allegations even as he explained that he never attended the said school not to talk of bearing a Senior Secondary School certificate bearing the said year.

While warning detractors to avoid any campaign of calumny against his person, he maintained that there was no iota of truth in what the group alleged as he was born in 1962 and not 1958 as claimed by the group.

He however advised the general public to disregard such information as its only aim is to misinform the populace while also rubbishing his reputation.

“I have never in my life forged anything. I wasn’t born in 1958 but in 1962. Also I never attended Etinan Institute. There is nothing they have not written about me, there is no amount of blackmail that they have not done about me just because I am a Permanent Secretary but they will never succeed.

“They claim that I schooled in Etinan Institute and that is not true. I never attended Etinan Institute, I was not born in 1958. I have never forged anything in my life be it certificate or anything.”