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 sightedThe Principal of the school, in
recommending Buhari for commissioning as an officer, said “I recommend
him for military commissioning; I consider that Mohammadu 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.”However, the APC in a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urged the Peoples
Democratic Party not to compromise the army in the name of giving
President Goodluck Jonathan an unfair advantage ahead of the February 14
presidential poll.The APC said compromising the army could backfire.
It said the military, as a symbol of national unity, must beware of
those seeking to use it to achieve selfish and divisive ends.The party
said it found it funny that the army spokesman had told The PUNCH in a
publication on January 4, 2015 that it had the certificates of all
serving and retired officers only to deny having Buhari’s credentials
two weeks later.It said, ‘‘In an interview with The Punch on January 4,
2015, Brig.-Gen. Olaleye said, ‘Every serving and retired Army officer
has at least a copy of his certificates and credentials kept in the
Nigerian Army while that same serving and retired officer has copies of
those same certificates and credentials’‘‘Is Brig.-Gen. Olaleye now
saying that he did not make that statement? If he did, what has happened
between then and now to make him to recant? It will be interesting to
know what has transpired between then and now.”The APC added, ‘’Is he
(Olaleye) now saying that all those who were commissioned into the
officer cadres in the 1960s did not have their certificates verified?
Does this not confirm what we said that in trying to destroy Maj. Gen.
Buhari, the PDP and the Jonathan administration will end up destroying
the army as an institution? Or is it only Maj. Gen. Buhari that was
commissioned into the army in the 1960s.”The APC argued that even if the
army did not have Buhari’s certificates, he (Buhari) “is still very
qualified to run for the country’s highest office, as stipulated by the
1999 Constitution.”The party said since Olaleye had now confirmed that
the form Buhari filed contained his Secondary School Certificate
results, there was no scintilla of doubt about his qualification to run
for President as stipulated by the constitution.It added, ‘‘We know that
the PDP and the Jonathan administration have constituted themselves
into a court of law and will like nothing more than the disqualification
of our candidate so they that will face no challenge in next month’s
election.’’Also, the Director, Media and Information Management
Directorate of Buhari Support Organisation, Chidia Maduekwe, said
the issue of Buhari’s certificate was inconsequential.He said, “INEC has
said it and I am saying it again, if anybody has doubts about the
general’s credentials, the person should go to court.“What the
constitution says is that a person seeking for the office of President
should be educated up to the level of school certificate and there is
evidence that the general was in school up till form six, his school
principal attested to this, he joined the army and rose to the peak.”
punch
No comments:
Post a Comment