Following a testimony by one Olorunsola Oladeji Victor detailed to represent the West African Examination Council at the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kwara State, affirming the authenticity of governor Abdurrahman Abdurrazaq’s WAEC certificate, the Kwara state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP has expressed its dissatisfaction over the development.
In a press statement signed by the Party’s publicity secretary, Tunde Ashaolu stating that the evidence provided by Mr. Olorunsola was not in consonance with the issue at hand. Adding that the Ilorin branch WAEC controller, Waheed Bamidele Amode’s mysterious disappearance at Tribunal today arose suspicion.
“We in the Kwara State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been watching with dismay the strange developments at the Election Petition Tribunal in Kwara State concerning the allegations of forgery of the Secondary school certificate results by the Kwara State Governor, Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq.
We noted that today, July 11, 2019, a strange person, one Mr. Victor Oladeji Olorunsola said to be a Senior Examination Officer, who could not prove that he is the authentic and mandated representative of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) appeared before the Tribunal to give some evidence which we consider inconsistent, uncoordinated and unrelated to the issue at hand. This is curious because previously, the branch controller of WAEC in Ilorin, Mr. Waheed Bamidele Amode, had been attending the Tribunal to represent WAEC. However, on the day he was billed to give evidence, he mysteriously disappeared and gave no letter or word indicating that he will be represented.
First, the said Mr. Olorunsola, who claimed to have testified on behalf of WAEC did not produce the certified true copy (CTC) of the said result of Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, neither did the Governor produce the original certificate issued to him by WAEC to prove that he has it. The so-called WAEC official appeared very jittery and unsure of himself and his evidence throughout the proceeding.
Two, the subjects listed in the statement produced by the so-called WAEC man are completely different from the ones listed in the forged certificate which Mr. Abdulrahaman Abdulrasaq has consistently submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), including the one attached to his gubernatorial nomination form. For example, the statement presented by the supposed WAEC official indicated that Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq sat for “Bible Knowlege” while the certificate he presented to INEC showed that he sat for “Religious Knowledge”. Furthermore, the WAEC statement indicated that he sat for English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, CR/ BLD and CR, when in fact the certificate submitted to INEC did not contain any of these subjects. On the contrary, the certificate Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq purports that he sat for the subjects “GEDM Building Drawing” and “Art” which were not reflected in the statement presented by the so-called WAEC official.
We maintain that the decision by WAEC to stake its reputation in this awkward manner as it is doing in the Kwara Gubernatorial Case is very curious, unprecedented and unexpected. The regional examination body appears to be collaborating in the attempt to justify what is clearly a forgery of its document.”
The party made an appeal to WAEC hierarchy not bring the body to disrepute by trying to manipulate the situation in order it subvert justice.
“We implore the leadership of WAEC to come out clean on this unholy relationship with Mr. Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq and distance themselves from the manipulations going on. There is obviously an attempt to mislead the Tribunal and this will not augur well for the dispensation of Justice in this matter. An organization that punishes students for examination malpractice should not be seen to be engaging in malpractice of this sort.”