The Purported Certificate Scandal's Web Of Top Politicians
The deluge of fake certifications has caught several prominent politicians in both election and appointed positions. However, not all charges led to cases of certificate fraud that were conclusively confirmed. As a result, some cases in court were dismissed for lack of evidence. Several other people were correctly proven responsible for this mischief.
There is a strong possibility that the drama and distraction of false certificates will surface in the coming weeks and months as the present government comes to an end in less than a week and a new one prepares to begin.
Here is a list of some of the prominent instances of Nigerian politicians who have been implicated—accurately or incorrectly—in the never-ending story of certificate fraud.
Salisu Buhari
From 1999 to 2000, Salisu Buhari served as the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives.
In 1999, shortly after being elected, he acknowledged to lying about his age and educational background, turning him into the face of certificate problems in Nigeria.
He misrepresented what he actually received, which was a diploma from the University of Toronto, saying that he had a bachelor's degree.
After the scandal, Buhari gave up his post as Speaker.
After fabricating credentials to get admission to Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, he was expelled from the school as well. He was therefore unable to take part in the required National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Later, Salisu would publicly acknowledge his guilt about the alleged forgery and beg Nigerians for their forgiveness and another chance to serve the nation.
Muhammadu Buhari
Following his selection as the APC's presidential candidate in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari became the focus of a certificate issue.
Recalls that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was in power at the time, complained that Buhari's secondary school diploma was unavailable.
Buhari won the presidential election despite the issue.
When Buhari was running for reelection in 2018 and failed to include his academic credentials in the paperwork he filed to INEC for the 2019 presidential election, the issue surfaced once more in the public eye.
Because Buhari couldn't provide his West African Secondary School Certificate, he came under fire, and some Nigerians said he didn't have a secondary education.
Only after the West African Examination Council, or WAEC, sent the president a "attestation certificate" proving that Buhari had in fact passed the organization's secondary school examination in 1961 did the dispute finally quiet down.
President-elect Bola Tinubu
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president-elect, made headlines for failing to submit his academic transcripts to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in advance of the 2023 presidential election.
In the INEC form, Tinubu omitted details regarding his primary and secondary schooling, but he did mention that he attended Chicago State University.
Tinubu claimed that when he was in self-exile from October 1994 to October 1998, his possessions and credentials were stolen and robbed in an affidavit supporting his bid for the presidency.
Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election despite the hullabaloo.
Goodluck Jonathan
Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, initially charged Goodluck
Jonathan of falsifying his PhD diploma. Jonathan purportedly graduated from the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State with a BSc in Zoology with second-class honors, an MSc in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology, and a PhD in Zoology.
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was in power at the time, was shaken by Obasanjo's accusation.
The insinuation was rejected by UNIPORT as having "neither legs nor grounds to stand on."
Later, the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, a civil society organization, would request access to Jonathan's academic records under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, but the institution would refuse to oblige.
Senator Ademola Adeleke
Osun State's current governor is Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP. He took up the position from Gboyega Oyetola.
Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu, two party members, accused and charged Adeleke in front of the Osogbo High Court with fabricating his secondary school transcript and results from the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
The plaintiffs demanded Adeleke be disqualified from the governorship election on September 22, 2019, on the grounds that she allegedly submitted forged documents to secure the PDP ticket.
But Osogbo High Court Justice David Oladimeji granted Adeleke permission to run for office.
Awoosiyan Olalekan, Ojejade Thomas, and Awodire Sina have brought a new action against Adeleke, the PDP, and INEC before the Federal High Court in Osogbo.
Later, the Court of Appeal exonerated Adeleke, declaring that it was confident the senator had the necessary educational credentials to run for office.
Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo
David Lyon, who triumphed in the November 2019 election for governor of Bayelsa State, has Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo as his running partner.
Less than 24 hours before Lyon took office as governor of Bayelsa State, the Supreme Court fired him.
Recalls that INEC was petitioned by a group of justices, led by Mary Odili, to revoke Lyon's certificate of return and issue a new one to the candidate who had the second-highest number of votes.
The Supreme Court's decision came after the Federal High Court upheld a ruling dismissing Lyon's running partner, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, for submitting falsified credentials to INEC.
Due to the fact that both men ran on the same ticket, the court determined that Degi-Eremienyo's actions had an impact on Lyon.
Kemi Adeosun
Former Minister of Finance Adeosun was forced to resign after it was discovered that her certificate of exemption from the NYSC may have been faked.
In her letter of resignation, Adeosun stated that she was unaware.
A Federal High Court in Abuja exonerated her of all allegations relating to the NYSC certificate in July 2022.
Christian Abah
In March, the Supreme Court terminated Christian Abah's term in the House of Representatives as the representative for Benue State's Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadigbo Federal Constituency.
The Supreme Court terminated the Benue State constituency in March 2017.
The court's decision came as a result of an earlier ruling from an Abuja federal high court in 2016, which found that he had provided INEC with a forgery of an academic qualification certificate.
The Ordinary National Diploma (OND) certificate that Abah claimed was issued in 1985 by the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa State, was found to have been faked, according to the Supreme Court.
As a result, the court instructed INEC to give a new certificate of return to Hassan Saleh, who finished first after Abah in the 2014 PDP primary.
James Ibori
From 1999 to 2007, James Ibori presided as the governor of Delta State. He was accused of forging his bachelor's in economics and his master's in business administration from the University of Benin in 2007, according to claims. These claims were looked into. Ibori was found guilty in the UK in 2012 on corruption-related charges; however, the charges were not the main reason for his sentence.
Bello Masari
Currently serving as governor of Katsina State is Bello Masari. There were claims that he had falsified his secondary school transcript during the 2015 governor's race. Due to a lack of evidence, the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the case.
Dimeji Bankole
From 2007 until 2011, Dimeji Bankole presided over Nigeria's House of Representatives. He was allegedly suspected of not finishing his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2010, and as a result, he allegedly submitted forged discharge papers.
His presentation of his NYSC certificate put an end to the rumor.
Peter Mbah
Even though Peter Mbah, the incoming governor of Enugu State, is only a few days away from being sworn in, this may not be the greatest of times.
Allegations that Mbah's NYSC discharge certificate was fake have grown into a major national problem.
The problem of the discharge certificate came to light in February 2023 when the NYSC issued a letter claiming that it had not issued the document that had been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in response to a request from a non-governmental organization.
Following yet another enquiry by Silver & Co. Associates, a law company with its headquarters in Aba, another letter repudiating the certificate was issued in April 2023.
As if that weren't enough, Mbah's certificate was not given by the NYSC, according to the director general of the organization in an interview with Arise TV.
Mbah sued the NYSC for N20 billion, demanding compensation for the harm the controversy over the discharge certificate did to his reputation.
The newly elected governor and his political party, the PDP, contend that the NYSC was lying.
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