Submitting a Forged Certificate Means Disqualification, Festus Keyamo on Tinubu’s Alleged Fake Certificate.
Festus Keyamo (SAN), The Minister of Aviation and former Director of Strategic Communications for President Buhari’s 2019 Presidential Campaign, has asserted that any candidate who presents a forged WAEC or other certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for any office will face disqualification.
Read Also Three days of heavy rainfall in Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, and 11 other states
This declaration comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding the alleged fake certificate presented by President Bola Tinubu during his candidacy for the 2023 presidential election.
Keyamo clarified that, according to the provisions of the Constitution, an aspirant does not necessarily require a WAEC certificate to run for the office of president or governor in Nigeria. He explained, “There are other levels of qualifications to run for the office of president. In fact, if you have occupied a public office for a reasonable length of time, by the provisions of the Constitution, you do not even need a WAEC certificate to become President of Nigeria.”
Keyamo’s statements were shared on his verified Twitter handle, @fkeyamo, following a television interview held on Sunday where he addressed these matters.
While it appears that Keyamo’s comments are in response to the Peoples Democratic Party’s argument that Muhammadu Buhari was not qualified to run for the presidency due to controversies surrounding his WAEC certificate, he also referenced the 2018 Osun governorship election scenario.
In the Osun case, the PDP’s candidate, Ademola Adeleke, faced lawsuits from both the opposition and members of his own party regarding the status of his WAEC certificate.
Keyamo emphasized, “Yes, Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution defines ‘School Certificate or its equivalent’ to mean Primary 6 School Leaving Certificate plus the ability to speak, write, understand, and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of INEC. No WAEC certificate is needed.”
He continued, “By the definition of ‘School Certificate or its equivalent’ in Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution, you don’t need a WAEC certificate to become President or Governor, but if you present a FORGED WAEC or other certificate to INEC for any office, you will be disqualified.
Recall that Festus Keyamo also addressed the authenticity of President Buhari’s certificate, stating that WAEC had confirmed it by issuing an attestation. In contrast, in the Osun case, WAEC had denied the authenticity of the certificate.
Taking a firm stance, Keyamo warned against individuals who lack the statutory power to issue WAEC certificates challenging the body authorized to do so. He urged aspiring politicians not to resort to forgery in their pursuit of public office.
Keyamo stressed that lacking a WAEC certificate should not drive individuals to forge one in an attempt to become a governor or president, as there are alternative qualifications that can make one eligible. He referred to the Osun case scenario as an example of a mistaken approach to this matter.
However, it has been confirmed that Bola Tinubu’s certificate submitted to INEC was not issued by Chicago State University. Festus Keyamo still went on to defend Tinubu; however, he claimed that the school has confirmed that Tinubu graduated from Chicago State University.
He didn’t address the issue of Tinubu’s transcript bearing “Female” and “Government College Lagos,” which Tinubu claimed to have graduated from in 1970, while the school was established in 1974.
