AHEAD OF NIGERIA 2019 ELECTIONS:
‘I am a Honest person, My Secondary School Result is still with Secretary of Nigerian Military Board’-Nigeria’s President, BUHARI
…’Nigerian Army don’t have the original, certified true copy or W.A.S.C. statement of results of retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate’, says Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-. Gen. Olajide Laleye
* Buhari Vows: ‘I am the above-named person and the deponent of this affidavit herein. I have attached an affidavit to support my claim’
* Nigerian Army: “It is a practice in the NA that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the Service, the Selection Board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented. However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s for Buhari”
* ‘We have received a list of 70 out of 91 political parties fielding candidates for presidential 2019 elections including Buhari, Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress party who failed to attach necessary documents as required for his re-election bid’-INEC
BY RILWAN AHMED/POLITICAL REPORTER, ABUJA
AS NIGERIA’S 2019 ELECTIONS DRAW NEARER DAILY, NIGERIA’S PRESIDENT, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) has stirred the hornet nest when he informed the nation’s electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that his secondary school result, W.A.S.C., is still in the safety of the Secretary of Nigerian Military Board. As such, Buhari has not yet submitted the original, certified true copy of his high school to INEC.
Buhari has refused to submit his academic credentials to the INEC ahead of the forthcoming 2019 general election. A list of presidential candidates released by INEC on Thursday identified 70 out of 91 political parties fielding candidates for presidential elections in 2019 including Buhari who failed to attach necessary documents as required for his re-election bid.
Buhari, a retired major general, told the electoral body that his credentials are still with the military and attached an affidavit to support his claim.
“I am the above-named person and the deponent of this affidavit herein. All my academic qualification documents as filled in my Presidential form, APC/001/2015 are currently with the Secretary of the Military Board as of the time of this affidavit,” Buhari said.
* We don’t have BUHARI’S Secondary School Result-Nigerian Army
It would be recalled that in 2014, former army spokesman Olajide Olaleye: “Records available indicate that Major General M Buhari applied to join the military as a Form Six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina on 18 Oct 61. His application was duly endorsed by the Principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him to be suitable for a military commission. It is a practice in the NA that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the Service, the Selection Board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented. However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s.”
For Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-. Gen. Olajide Laleye while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday: “The Nigerian Army did not have the original, certified true copy or statement of results of retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate for the February general elections.”
Laleye said that the entry made on the Nigerian Army Form 199A at the point of documentation after Buhari was commissioned as an officer, indicated that the former Head of State obtained the West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961.
His words: “With credits in relevant subjects: English Language, Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa and a pass in English Literature, the army holds the retired senior officer in high esteem and respect and would not be a party to any controversy surrounding his eligibility for any political office.”
Laleye said that Buhari rose steadily to the enviable rank of Major General before becoming the Head of State of the country in December 1983: “The media hype on the retired Buhari’s credentials as well as numerous requests made by individuals and cooperate bodies to the Nigerian Army on this issue have necessitated that we provide the facts as contained in the retired senior officer’s service records. Records available indicate that Buhari applied to join the military as a form six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, on Oct. 18, 1961. His application was duly endorsed by the principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him to be suitable for military commission.
“It is a practice in the Nigerian Army that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the service, the selection board verifies the original copies of credentials as presented.”
However, the other 70 candidates, whose names were published in INEC’s list submitted relevant documents including the opposition People’s Democratic Party Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Abubakar submitted relevant documents, with a Diploma in Law in 1969 from the Ahmadu Bello University being his highest qualification.
