I made Grade II in Cambridge/WASCE – Buhari •School releases result •He has committed perjury, says PDP •Saga, shame on Nigeria – Adebanjo The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday clarified that he attended the Provisional Secondary school, now Government College, Katsina, where he made Grade II in the Cambridge West African School Certificate examination. Buhari who made the clarification at a news conference in Kano, said he would produce the certificate. The clarification was sequel to the assertion of Nigerian Army authorities that they were not in possession of his academic certificates, especially for the secondary school. Buhari said the dust raised by the certificate saga was a mere diversionary plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to take the attention of Nigerians away from challenges bedeviling the country. “I only consented to address you this morning because of the genuine concern expressed by many supporters and other well-meaning Nigerians that the issue be addressed. Otherwise, I would have dismissed it for what it is – sheer mischief and would not have considered it an issue worth the nation’s while. He said: “All my records were in the custody of the Secretary, Nigerian Army, a position I was privileged to occupy myself. “But since I am now told that although a record of the result is available, there is no copy of the certificate in my personal file, I have formally requested my old school to make available the school copy of the result.’’ He also said: “I have formally applied for the issuance of my Cambridge West African School Certificate from the Provisional Secondary school, now Government College, Katsina.” Buhari said that he graduated from the school in 1961 with other prominent Nigerians, including late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’adua, and Justice Umaru Abdullahi, the former President, Federal Court of Appeal. “As soon as the result is ready it will be distributed to newsmen for their verification. “My examination number is 8200002 and I passed the examination with Second Division,” he said. He described the allegation that he did not attend a secondary school and had no certificate that qualified him for the presidential contest as ‘’baseless’’, saying that it was intended to discredit him. But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday accused Buhari of committing perjury over the signing of affidavit to the claim that his secondary school certificate was with the authorities of the Nigerian Army. The party said the announcement made by the Army authorities that it does not have any copy of his certificate showed that the general never had the requisite qualification to be a commissioned officer in the Army at the onset. Femi Fani-Kayode, Director, Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, who addressed a press conference in Abuja on the issue, said it had become necessary for the Army to take drastic action against him by stripping him of all privileges due to a retired general. Fani-Kayode said the affidavit sworn to by Buhari in which he claimed that his credentials were in the custody of the military amounts to perjury because “he lied”. He contended that the claim by Buhari that he does not know his certificates were not with Army but went ahead to swear to an affidavit is a criminal offence. “The implication of the action of this so-called “Mr. Clean” is nothing but perjury and we all know that this is a grave criminal offence under our laws and constitution. “We urge Buhari and his party to do the right thing and tender an unreserved apology to the Nigerian people, throw in the towel and report to the nearest police station for interrogation and prosecution,” he stated. Speaking with Daily Independent shortly after Buhari’s press conference, Ayo Adebanjo, an elder statesman and chieftain of pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said the controversy surrounding Buhari’s certificate was a shame on Nigeria. Adebanjo said it was surprising how Buhari could rise to the rank he attained in the Nigerian Army without a certificate. He added that the case was one of the imbalances created by the colonialists and past leaders in Nigeria where they lower standards for people in the North. “I wish it is not true that he has no certificate. How can a man that has been to that position have no certificate? We have been fighting this battle since the First Republic that the Northerners lower standards when they want to put people in positions. That was what happened to Buhari then and nobody knew it will come out this way”. “When they say the average Nigerian must have 70 per cent to enter a place, they will take somebody with 35 per cent from the North. That has been happening. “Again, if you read Alabi- Isama’s book, he said by the time they are entering the military, they lower the standard for people in the North. That is what is happening here. It is a shame on Nigeria,” he said. The Delta State Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah, on his part, described the certificate controversy as a time bomb that should be investigated and reconciled immediately. Ogeah in an interactive session with journalists on Wednesday maintained that the constitution must be studied to know if it said secondary education is the minimum requirement or its equivalent and that if it is the former, the next person to him during the party’s primary should be recalled. He said the issue can result to a great problem and to avoid the crisis something urgent has to be done as the law has no respect for anybody, no matter how highly placed adding that constitutional issues cannot be bended. However, the former chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Monday Ubani, insisted Buhari need not to obtain a School Certificate to qualify as a candidate for the election. Ubani who spoke to Daily Independent in his Ikeja Office on Wednesday explained that Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution required him to attend a secondary school and not to attach his certificate with his nomination form. “All this much ado about Buhari’s certificate is unnecessary because the constitution clearly states the minimum requirement for anybody that desires to contest election into the office of president”, he said. Ubani further stated that even if Buhari does not attend a secondary school or posses the certificate, the constitution also states that a primary school leaver with 10 years or more experience in the civil service is qualified to contest for the position of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He further stated that if the provision of the Electoral Act contradicts the Constitution, it is expected that the provisions of the Constitution supersede that of the Electoral Act. “In law, there is no way the electoral law would be superior to the constitution,” he said. The legal expert expressed disappointment over the decision of politicians to avoid issues that matter and pursuing non-essential things. Meanwhile, Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper, said it has obtained the 1961 Cambridge/WASCE result exclusively on Wednesday, hours after Buhari urged his Alma Mater to release it. “According to the result, Mohammadu (spelt Mohamed) Buhari, with Admission Number 134, Centre Number 8280 and Exam Number 002, obtained credit passes in five subjects namely: English Language (C5); Hausa Language (C5); History (A3); Geography (C6); and Health Science (C6). He obtained ordinary pass in Literature in English (P7); failing Mathematics and Woodwork (F9). “The result dated January 21, 2015, a copy of which was scanned and sent by electronic mail, had the photograph of Buhari affixed and stamped,” it stated. The newspaper also said it obtained a copy of the confidential result sheet of the University of Cambridge/West African School Certificate (1961), awarded in collaboration with the West African Examination Council (WAEC) from Government College, Katsina. “The Cambridge result sheet showed that 18 students took the examinations in Government College Katsina, including Buhari, Umaru Abdullahi (former president of the Court of Appeal) and General Shehu Yar’adua, former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters,” it stated.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 07:54:23 +0000
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