Buhari’s certificate saga: PDP accuses INEC of cover up
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of covering up candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in next month’s presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari, over the controversy surrounding his certificate.
However, the APC Presidential Campaign Council immediately berated the PDP over the statement, advising it to face the current trouble in Baga, Borno State, rather than commenting on Buhari’s certificate saga.
The ruling PDP, at a press conference held in Abuja on Saturday, also accused the electoral umpire of acts capable of undermining current democratic experience.
“It has been brought to our attention that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), either by error of omission or commission, may be engaged in acts that do not support the advancement of democracy, the rule of law and the strict adherence to the letters and the spirit of electoral laws in Nigeria.
“His (Buhari’s) inability to present even the minimum requirement of just a leaving school certificate questions his moral and other credentials for pursuing the position of the president of Nigeria. The current emerging shocking disclosures bring to the fore how and what qualifications were used to recruit him into the military without a minimum school leaving certificate, where he rose to the rank of a General and even became the head of state through a military coup that truncated a democratically-elected government in 1983,” PDP said.
Putting INEC on the spot
While putting the INEC on the spot, the ruling party noted that it had become known that General Buhari did not present any certificate, even for the 2011 presidential election.
“The question must be asked; is Buhari or any other citizen qualified to contest election into the office of the president without meeting the minimum constitutional requirement? The Nigerian constitution at Section 131 unequivocally states that: ‘A person shall be qualified for election to the office of president if: (a) He is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) He has attained the age of forty years; (c) He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) He has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent.’
“It is to be noted that section 131 (d) is a specific directional order for all candidates to show proof of education up to a minimum standard not below school certificate or its equivalent.
“But from what INEC has published, Buhari has not submitted any personal particular of minimum school leaving certificate for the 2015 election and shockingly, from INEC documents displayed in all constituencies, he also did not submit anything in 2011 and never referred the umpire then to the secretary of the Military Board as well as previous elections he contested as evidenced in all available INEC records until this current discovery.
“If the constitution did not require proof, it would not specify a minimum. To strengthen this claim, the extant Electoral Act directs that such proof must be sworn to by each candidate at a court.
“In Section 31 (2) to (5), it says: ‘The list of information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a state or the FCT, indicating that he has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.’
“It should be noted that for elections to the office of the president and for the purpose of display of particulars of candidates for all presidential elections, the entire country is taken as one constituency i.e. the 774 local government areas of the 36 states, including the FCT where these particulars have been displayed.
“For Nigerians that have perused the affidavit of nomination as submitted by General Buhari, as published in all INEC offices, as well as the copies of his similar INEC documentations for 2011, it clearly reveals that a man who claims to be of integrity has not been true to Nigerians.
“It can be seen that as indicated in Section 31 (6), there is reasonable grounds to believe that a false deponent was declared in the affidavit where it indicates that all documents relating to the personal particulars of General Buhari are with the secretary of the Military Board.
Is Buhari above the law?
PDP went ahead to query the electoral body on why it appeared to have placed Buhari above the law of the land.
It said: “The question to ask INEC is: Is Buhari above the law of the land or should we suspend or amend the law to accommodate him?
“It is common knowledge that Military Board, like any other, does not keep or retain original copies of personal particulars of individuals, such as birth certificates, passports and academic credentials, especially retired personnel of over three decades.
“It must be stated that INEC erred in law by publishing the name of a candidate without receiving the personal particulars of the candidate within seven days of receiving his nomination forms as indicated in section 31 (3).
“This is, indeed, a tragedy illustrating what Nigeria has become; that an individual is so powerful that the law has to be ignored to accommodate him. Certainly, INEC-printed nomination forms or High Court affidavits are in no way or by any stretch of definition, the same as personal particulars, such as school leaving certificate.”
‘Address the nation on Baga, not certificate’
In its reaction, the APC Presidential Campaign Council advised the PDP to ask President Goodluck Jonathan to address the nation on “the massacre in Baga town which the Amnesty International had described as the single most deadly incident since the unfortunate insurgency started in the country.”
A statement from the Directorate of Media and Publicity of the council, made available to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, noted that the PDP had dwelt so much on the issue of academic certificate of Buhari, while there were more pressing issues for the government controlled by the party to address.
The statement reads; “this government should not go on being insensitive. It has to be accountable to Nigerians. The issue of certificate of General Buhari is a non-issue, as everyone knows that Buhari is a product of Daura Primary School, Katsina Provisional Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) and the Nigerian Military Training College.
“This is in addition to several other courses he attended at home and abroad.”
The statement noted further that while the PDP-led government had failed in its duty and responsibilities to the citizens and the nation, it had intensified “effort to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.”
Fear has gripped PDP –APC
In the same vein, the APC, in a reaction, claimed that the PDP was seeking the disqualification Buhari over his academic qualifications because it is panicking over the imminent victory of Buhari in February.
APC’s spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told Sunday Tribune that it was unthinkable for anyone to insinuate that Buhari did not possess minimum educational requirement to contest the presidential poll.
He said his party would await PDP’s next line of action over the controversy.
According to him; “PDP is panicky about General because they know that it is certain he will win this election and that is why they are looking for ways to disqualify him.
“It is an insult not only to General Buhari, but also the military institution for them to say that he does not have school certificates before joining the army and rising to become head of state. “Tomorrow, if America says our Generals are not worth their ranks, we should know this is what PDP has brought on us. They are de-valuing the military. PDP does not have what to campaign with and they are seriously afraid because they know they are certainly losing this election to our candidate.
INEC keeps mum
Meanwhile, the INEC, on Saturday, declined to comment on the position of the PDP that Buhari is not qualified to contest in the February election and that the commission was covering up for him.
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to INEC chairman, Mr Kayode Idowu, declined to comment on the matter, saying; «I cannot say anything for mow, until I see the content of the said press conference by the PDP.”
