The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has dared President Muhammadu Buhari to tender his West African Examination Council, WAEC, certificate, before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The party warned against allowing Buhari’s campaign spokesperson, Festus Keyamo, to insult the sensibility of Nigerians by saying that certificate was not needed by anyone to become the President of the country.
PDP, however, called on Nigerians to note that in claiming that an aspirant does not need WAEC certificate, but the ability to speak English, to contest for the office of the President, “the Presidency, through Festus Keyamo, has finally admitted that President Buhari does not have a WAEC certificate as he claimed in his INEC form.”
A statement by the party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan read: “The PDP says it is completely inexcusable for President Buhari to swear to an affidavit to claim an educational qualification he does not possess.
“An attempt to deceive the public using a defective reading and skewed interpretation of a section of the constitution cannot exonerate President Buhari.
‘Moreover, Section 295 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is very clear on issues of interpretations and reference to questions of law. The PDP therefore, maintains that the onus is on Buhari, as ‘Mr. Integrity’ to tender the certificate he claims to possess before the tribunal instead of this lame diversion from Presidential aides,” the PDP added.
Keyamo had said “One does not need a WAEC certificate to become a president as long as the person has occupied a public office for a reasonable length of time.
”There are other levels of qualifications to run for the office of President. If you have occupied the public office for a reasonable length of time, by the provisions of the constitution, you do not even need a WAEC certificate to become President of Nigeria,” he said.
He said, the 1999 Constitution (amended) only requires a primary 6 School Leaving Certificate for one to become a president.
