2019: PDP challenges Buhari over fresh certificate saga
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to show proof of his integrity by presenting his academic documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This, the main opposition party believes, would put to an end to the President’s certificate saga.
Specifically, the party urged President Buhari to fulfil his obligation like other presidential candidates, instead of bugging the commission with affidavits.
The party was reacting to President Buhari’s failure to provide his academic credentials to the electoral body as one of the requirements to qualify to contest elective positions in the country.
Buhari who is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and seeking a re-election in office had told INEC that all his academic credentials are with the military.
But in a statement on Friday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said: “While its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has submitted his educational and other relevant documents to INEC,
President Buhari is rather seeking ways to short-circuit the system, instead of complying with set rules.
“Indeed, a situation where President Buhari has been dodging the certificate issue raises huge questions of integrity, which demands that he makes available his credentials, or apologize to Nigerians, if he has none, so that the nation can move ahead.
“President Buhari knows by now that Nigerians are no longer interested in his claims in an affidavit wherein he stated; ‘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 affidavi’”.
PDP maintains that integrity strictly demands that President Buhari, as the commander-in-chief, writes to the military authorities directing them to forward his credentials to INEC, as requisite evidence of compliance with a key requirement for election into the Office of the President, under section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“This situation has even been worsened by the revelations that President Buhari’s ministers and aides parade forged certificates. No country makes meaningful progress with persons with this educational pedigrees in it’s leadeership,” the statement added.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja