Present Your Certificate, Not Affidavits, PDP Tells Buhari

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu
Buhari to fulfil his obligation like other presidential candidates
by presenting his academic certificate rather than bugging the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with
affidavits.

The opposition party said that a situation where Buhari has been
dodging the certificate issue raises huge questions of integrity,
which demand that he makes available his credentials, or apologise
to Nigerians, if he has none, so that the nation can move
ahead.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Mr. Kola
Ologbondiyan, in a statement Friday in Abuja challenged Buhari to
show proof of his ‘vaunted integrity’ by presenting his academic
documents, if he has any, to INEC and put to an end his certificate
saga.

According to him, “The PDP also urges President Buhari to fulfil
his obligation like other Presidential candidates, instead of
bugging the commission with affidavits.”

The PDP 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.

Ologbondiyan noted that Buhari knew that Nigerians were 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 affidavit.”

The party said that integrity strictly demands that Buhari,
particularly as the commander-in-chief, writes to the military
authorities directing them to forward his claimed 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).

Ologbondiyan stated that the fact that : “President Buhari and
the previous INEC succeeded in circumventing the law in 2015 does
not make such acceptable in our current electoral process.

“Moreover, President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress
(APC) must realise that even their followers, that were beguiled in
2015, are currently not prepared to accept ‘NEPA bill’ as WAEC
certificate in the 2019 elections.”

The PDP urged Buhari to do the needful so as not to cause any
frictions that would put INEC under further pressure ahead of the
2019 general elections.