In 2005, a newspaper report described an unusual attempt by two Nigerian graduates to obtain employment at Chevron Nigeria Limited. Rather than rely solely on their academic qualifications and conventional job applications, the men allegedly presented a complimentary call card bearing the name and purported signature of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The reported Obasanjo signature forgery involved two individuals identified as George Promise and Richard Alefe, who allegedly hoped that a recommendation appearing to come directly from the Presidency would improve their chances of securing employment.
The incident attracted attention because it involved an attempt to borrow the authority of Nigeria’s highest political office for a private employment application. It also brought into focus the anxieties surrounding graduate unemployment, access to influential individuals and perceptions of favouritism in recruitment during the early 2000s.
Although the original newspaper account provides details of the alleged scheme and the investigation that followed, the surviving information does not establish the final legal outcome. The story must therefore be understood as a reported incident rather than a fully reconstructed criminal case.
Nigeria’s Employment Climate Under President Obasanjo
When the incident was reportedly uncovered in 2005, Nigeria was under the civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had returned to democratic government in May 1999.
His administration was pursuing economic reforms, privatisation, financial-sector restructuring and efforts to attract investment. The country also had a growing population of university and polytechnic graduates entering a competitive employment market.
Despite economic activity and investment in several sectors, obtaining formal employment remained difficult for many young Nigerians.
Historical figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics provide useful context. Its historical unemployment tables record a national unemployment rate of 11.9 per cent in 2005. The same statistical series records unemployment of 34.2 per cent among people aged 15 to 24, compared with 11.3 per cent among those aged 25 to 44.
These figures demonstrate the employment difficulties experienced by younger Nigerians during the period. They should not, however, be interpreted as graduate-specific unemployment rates.
A study by Isaiah Oluranti Olurinola and Theophilus O. Fadayomi, titled Youth Labour Market Outcomes in Nigeria: Evidence from National Labour Market Survey, examined employment conditions using the 2005 Labour Force Sample Survey. The researchers found that young people were more than three times as likely as adults to be unemployed.
This historical background helps explain why stories about unsuccessful job applications and the importance of personal connections resonated with Nigerians. It does not establish that unemployment caused the alleged actions of the two men, but it places their reported explanations within a documented national employment problem.
George Promise and Richard Alefe: The Two Graduates
The contemporary Daily Sun account identified the two individuals as George Promise and Richard Alefe. Both were reportedly 31 years old when the incident occurred.
George was described as a Computer Science graduate of Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
According to the newspaper account, he graduated in April 2000 but had struggled to secure employment.
His reported explanation was that repeated applications had failed to produce the opportunity he wanted, despite his educational qualifications.
He reportedly told investigators:
“I read Computer Science at the Enugu University of Science and Technology (ESUT) and graduated in April 2000. I am very good at my job, but I realised that nobody was giving me any job.”
George also reportedly claimed that he had applied to more than 5,000 companies without success.
That figure is an extraordinary personal claim and should be attributed to him rather than treated as an independently established employment record.
He reportedly believed that some of his friends obtained better opportunities because they had connections with influential individuals in government.
Richard Alefe was said to have expressed similar concerns about the importance of personal connections in obtaining employment.
The men’s reported explanations suggest that they believed an influential recommendation could achieve what their ordinary applications had not.
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The Fake Presidential Recommendation
According to the Daily Sun account, the two graduates decided to produce a complimentary call card bearing President Obasanjo’s name and purported signature.
The card was allegedly designed to resemble an official presidential recommendation.
Its intended recipient was identified as Mr Jay Pryor, a senior Chevron Nigeria figure. Contemporary reporting from 2002 identifies Pryor as the company’s managing director at that time, although his precise position when the alleged card was presented in 2005 requires separate confirmation.
The message reportedly printed on the reverse side of the card read:
“Mr Jay Pryor, attached herewith are the CVs of my wards, (Richard and George). I commend you to use your good office to facilitate their immediate employment. Treat as urgent. Thanks.”
The wording was significant.
By describing the two applicants as his wards, the purported message suggested that the President had a personal interest in their employment.
It also presented the request as an instruction deserving urgent attention.
The alleged card was therefore not simply an ordinary reference letter. It was designed to create the impression that the applicants enjoyed a direct relationship with the President and had received his personal endorsement.
The original physical card has not been independently examined for this account. Its design and wording are consequently reported details rather than findings from an authenticated document.
How Chevron Reportedly Discovered the Forgery
The newspaper account stated that the card was presented to Chevron in support of the two men’s applications.
The company reportedly became suspicious and decided to establish whether the recommendation had genuinely originated from the Presidency.
According to the report, Chevron contacted the appropriate presidential office to verify the document.
The response was reportedly that the Presidency had not issued the card.
This verification allegedly exposed the scheme.
Chevron subsequently reported the matter to the police.
The episode illustrates the importance of verifying documents that claim to carry the authority of senior public officials. A signature, title or official-looking message cannot establish authenticity without confirmation from the institution concerned.
In this reported case, the attempt to benefit from the President’s perceived influence was also what made the document vulnerable to verification.
The Police Investigation at Panti
Following Chevron’s reported complaint, detectives attached to the Criminal Investigation Department at Panti, Lagos, were said to have investigated the matter.
According to the contemporary account, investigators used information contained in the suspects’ curriculum vitae to trace the two graduates.
The men were reportedly arrested and taken to Port Harcourt for further investigation.
The use of information contained in the applicants’ CVs was an important detail in the reported investigation. The documents intended to help the men obtain employment allegedly also provided investigators with information that helped identify them.
However, the precise dates of the arrests, the police officers involved, the formal allegations and the subsequent legal proceedings have not been established through independently available police or court records.
It would therefore be inappropriate to add details about their prosecution or punishment without documentary support.
Richard Alefe’s Explanation: How the Card Was Produced
Richard Alefe reportedly explained that the idea originated after the two men saw a prototype of a presidential call card.
According to his account, they decided to reproduce the document themselves.
George reportedly used his computer to print the card after the design had been prepared.
Alefe also reportedly maintained that their objective was to obtain employment rather than pursue another criminal purpose. He expressed regret over the incident.
These statements provide insight into the explanation attributed to the suspects during the investigation.
Nevertheless, an explanation offered by an accused person does not independently establish every detail of an alleged offence. It must be distinguished from physical evidence, police documentation and judicial findings.
The reported intention to obtain employment also does not change the nature of presenting a fabricated presidential recommendation as genuine.
What the Incident Reveals About Recruitment and Political Influence
The alleged Obasanjo signature forgery raises a broader question about the relationship between qualifications, recommendations and recruitment in Nigeria.
In many employment environments, references and professional recommendations form part of the recruitment process. A recommendation can help an employer understand an applicant’s experience, character and suitability for a position.
However, there is a fundamental difference between a genuine professional recommendation and a document falsely attributed to a public official.
The reported conduct of the two graduates suggests that they believed the President’s name could give their applications an advantage.
That belief is historically interesting because it reflects the perceived value of political access in a country where concerns about patronage and favouritism were frequently discussed.
Nevertheless, the incident cannot establish that Chevron recruited employees through nepotism or that political recommendations routinely determined employment decisions at the company.
The evidence supports a narrower conclusion: the two men reportedly believed that a presidential endorsement would improve their chances, and the company reportedly sought verification when it became suspicious.
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What Happened to George Promise and Richard Alefe?
One of the most important unanswered questions concerns the eventual fate of the two graduates.
The available contemporary account describes their reported arrest, investigation and explanations. It does not provide a reliable final account of the proceedings.
There is no independently established court judgment in the sources identified for this article confirming whether they were charged, convicted, acquitted, imprisoned or released.
Their subsequent professional and personal lives are also not established.
This gap matters because an arrest and a criminal conviction are different legal events. Reporting an arrest does not establish guilt, and an investigation does not automatically result in prosecution or imprisonment.
Until reliable court documents or a follow-up report emerge, the final disposition of the case must remain unknown.
The Historical Significance of the 2005 Incident
The reported incident remains an unusual example of the intersection between unemployment, political influence and institutional security in Nigeria.
Its importance does not depend on exaggerating the alleged actions of the two graduates or inventing an ending to the investigation.
The wider employment environment was documented. National statistics show that younger Nigerians faced considerably higher unemployment than older working-age groups in 2005. Academic research using the period’s labour-market data also identified youth unemployment as a significant challenge.
The reported actions of George Promise and Richard Alefe, if accurately described in the contemporary account, illustrate how perceptions of unequal access to opportunity could influence individual decisions.
At the same time, the reported response by Chevron demonstrates why organisations need reliable procedures for authenticating references, signatures and official correspondence.
The story also highlights a basic distinction that remains relevant to employment practices: qualifications, professional references and political endorsements are not interchangeable. A document claiming to represent a public institution must be genuine before it can carry any legitimate authority.
Conclusion
The 2005 Obasanjo signature forgery story is a striking episode in Nigeria’s employment history. According to contemporary newspaper reporting, George Promise and Richard Alefe allegedly attempted to use a fabricated presidential call card to obtain jobs at Chevron Nigeria Limited.
The reported scheme was uncovered after the company sought confirmation from the Presidency, leading to a police investigation.
Although the details of the alleged document, the suspects’ explanations and the investigation remain dependent on the contemporary newspaper account, the wider unemployment problem is supported by historical statistical and academic records. The ultimate legal outcome remains unconfirmed. That uncertainty should be preserved rather than replaced with an invented conclusion.
The incident deserves attention as a reported case involving the misuse of presidential authority in an employment application and as a historical reminder of the pressures surrounding graduate employment in Nigeria during the Obasanjo administration.
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Author’s Note
The reported case of George Promise and Richard Alefe is significant not simply because it involved an alleged attempt to forge a presidential signature, but because it brings together two important aspects of Nigeria’s early democratic period: the difficulties confronting young graduates and the perceived influence of powerful connections in the search for employment. Its historical value lies in the questions it raises about merit, opportunity, institutional credibility and the verification of official documents. The missing judicial conclusion is equally important, reminding us that preserving history requires distinguishing what newspapers reported from what subsequent documentary evidence can establish.
References
National Bureau of Statistics (2011). Annual Abstract of Statistics 2011. Tables 393–395: National unemployment rates and unemployment rates by age group and sector, 2003–2007. Abuja, Nigeria.
Olurinola, Isaiah Oluranti, and Fadayomi, Theophilus O. Youth Labour Market Outcomes in Nigeria: Evidence from National Labour Market Survey. Covenant Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Volume 5, Number 2. Study based on the 2005 Labour Force Sample Survey.
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (2002). Chevron MD Seeks Peaceful Relations With Host Communities. Contemporary report by Chuka Odittah, ThisDay, 13 September 2002. Identifies Jay Pryor as Chevron Nigeria’s managing director at the time.
