Perhaps the fuss is because he has a significant amount of time with instructors towards both night rating and imc rating, but because he never thought he'd need it, he never asked them for a signiture in his log book. And now, they possibly won't sign it, not because he isn't safe, but because he hasn't done the "check out" which normally preceeds the signiture?
And to be honest I can see his point. No one should have a problem if someone refuses to sign your log book because they don't think you are safe. If you disagree with them, then find another unconnected instructor. If they too won't sign it for you, then you really know you have a problem. But if they won't sign it because you haven't done the quasi skills test, (but have done other training with yo, and think you are safe), then that's something else entirely.
dp