Buhari to speak about certificate controversy today

The Nigerian Army has said it is not in custody of the original certificates of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The Army, at a news conference by its Director of Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Olajide Laleye, in Abuja on Tuesday, added that it was also not in possession of the photocopies or statement of results of Buhari.

It however explained that the entry made for documentation by the APC candidate on its (Army) Form 199A, indicated that he wrote and passed the West African School Certificate in 1961.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Garba Shehu, said in a terse statement on Tuesday night that Buhari would address a new conference on the issue on Wednesday (today).

Buhari had in an affidavit he deposed to at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on November 24, 2014 and submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission on December 18, 2014, said that his certificates were with the military.

"I am the above-named person and deponent to this affidavit therein. All my academic qualifications, documents as filled in my presidential form, President APC/001/2015, are currently with the Secretary, Military Board as of the time of presenting this affidavit. The affidavit is made in good faith and for record purposes," he had written.

When the controversy over Buhari's qualification gathered momentum, Laleye told The PUNCH during an exclusive interview which was published on January 4, 2015, that the military authorities were ready to release credentials and certificates in its custody to serving and retired officers in need of them.

He said that the procedure for the retrieval or collection of the certificates was known to all serving or retired officers of the military.

On Tuesday, Laleye said that military records showed that Buhari applied to join the Army on October 18, 1961.

The Army spokesman explained that it was the tradition of the Army to ensure that a selection board was set up to verify the original credentials of candidates shortlisted for commissioning. Laleye said that records did not show that the process was followed.

However, he said that the entry made for documentation by Buhari on Form 199A indicated that he had credit in English Language, Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa and a Pass in English Literature.

He said, "The media hype on Maj. Gen. Buhari's credentials as well as the numerous requests made by individuals and corporate bodies to the Army on this issue have necessitated that we provide the facts as contained in the retired senior officer's service record.

"Records available indicate that Maj. Gen. Buhari applied to join the military as a form six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina on 18 October 1961.

"His application was duly endorsed by the principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him suitable for military commission.

"It is a practice in the Army that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers' cadre of the service; the selection board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented. However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s.

"Nevertheless, the entry made on Form 199A at the point of documentation after commission as an officer indicated that the former Head of State obtained the WASC in 1961 with credits in relevant subjects.

"Neither the original certified true copy nor the statement of result of Maj. Gen. Buhari's WASC result is in his personal file.

"I hope this explanation will put to rest, the raging controversy surrounding the secondary school credentials of Maj. Gen. Buhari as it affects the Nigerian Army."

Although the Army authorities did not allow journalists to have copies of the documents filed by the former Head of State for his commissioning as an officer, they created an opportunity for the documents to be sighted.

The Principal of the school, in recommending Buhari for commissioning as an officer, said "I recommend him for military commissioning; I consider that Muhammadu Buhari will pass the West Africa School Certificate in English, Maths and three other subjects.

Laleye said that the Army holds Buhari, who rose to the enviable rank of Maj. Gen, and was Head of State of the country, in high esteem and would not be party to the controversy over "his eligibility for any political office."

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Source: The PUNCH
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