WAEC certificate: Why Buhari must be disqualified from 2019 election, prosecuted – SLG

The Save Lagos Group, (SLG), a human rights group has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to disqualify himself from the 2019 Presidential race over his inability to present his West African School Certificate (WASC) as required by the Electoral Act in the electoral umpire Form CF001 for every candidate seeking elective offices.

SLG in a statement issued and sent to DAILY POST on Sunday by Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, its convener, insisted that Buhari should do the needful by excusing himself from the 2019 presidential contest in order “to prove his acclaimed integrity status”.

Sulaiman in the statement alleged that Buhari’s Statement of Result obtained in 1961 from Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) “was forged and fake, thereby making it difficult to produce its original Certificate by the concerned examination body”.

Sulaiman who doubles as the Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), maintained that Buhari has committed a criminal offence of forgery and perjury for presenting a fake and forged document as his highest educational qualification to make him qualify to vie for the office of the President in 2019, urging the appropriate security agents to begin investigation into this ”mind-boggling criminal offence of Mr. president,” adding that immunity does not prevent security agents from investigating the Buhari’s Certificate saga.

He criticised some of the aides of the President including Mr. Festus Keyamo for rationalizing the inability of Buhari to present his West African School Certificate (WASC).

Sulaiman who strongly condemned President Buhari for still referring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Military Board for his WASC after he has become the Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces, said such suggested that the said result was not available in the records of the West African Examination body.

While speaking further, he explained that the enlistment of Buhari in the Military and commissioning as an officer of the Nigeria Army where he rose to the rank of Major-General and later became the Head of State, were deceptive and also suggested that Buhari was one of the most beneficiaries of deceptive structure of the country, thereby making it difficult for him (Buhari) to accept the advice given to him on the need to restructure Nigeria.

He hinted that he would inform his legal counsel to file an application on his behalf before the appropriate court of competent jurisdiction to seek disqualification of President Buhari in the 2019 Presidential election as suggested by the nation’s electoral umpire.

He said, “We should not be economical with the truth. Nobody is claiming that President Muhammad Buhari is not qualified to contest, but the presentation of a fake and forged Statement of Result to seek elective office, renders him automatically disqualified and must be prosecuted as such. Until Buhari presents the Certificate of his acclaimed 1961 Statement of Result, he is not eligible to contest.

“Recently, immediate past Minister for Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun tendered her resignation letter for presenting a fake NYSC Exemption Certificate.

“Now, what is difference between President Muhammadu Buhari and Mrs. Kemi Adeosun? There is no moral justification for Buhari to accept Kemi Adeosun’s resignation letter if he too could not resign for submitting forged and fake Statement of Result to INEC”.