A popular human rights activist and Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to disqualify himself from the 2019 presidential race over his inability to present its acclaimed West African School Certificate (WASC) as required by the Electoral Act in the electoral umpire’s Form CF001 for every candidate seeking elective offices.
Comrade Suleiman who also alleged that the acclaimed purported Buhari’s Statement of Result obtained in 1961 from Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) was forged and fake, thereby making it difficult to produce its original Certificate by the concerned examination body.
In a signed statement by the rights activist which copies were made available to newsmen on Sunday, he insisted that Buhari should do the needful by excusing himself from the 2019 presidential contest in order to prove his acclaimed integrity status.
Suleiman, who doubles as Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), maintained that Buhari has committed a criminal offence of forgery and perjury for presenting a fake and forged document as his highest educational qualification to make him qualify to vie for the office of the President in 2019. He urged the appropriate security agents “to begin the investigation into this mind-boggling criminal offence of Mr. President,” adding that immunity does not prevent security agent from investigating the Buhari’s certificate saga.
Suleiman lambasted some of President’s aides, including Mr. Festus Keyamo, “for rationalising the inability of Buhari to present his West African School Certificate (WASC) as contained same in the 1961 Statement of Result made available to public in 2015 through a World Press Conference.”
The SLG strongly condemned President Buhari for still referring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Military Board for his WASC after he has become the Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces, suggesting that the said result was not available in the records of the West African Examination body.
Speaking further, Suleiman explained that the enlistment of Buhari in the Military and commissioning as an officer of the Nigeria Army where he rose to the rank of Major-General and later became the Head of State, were deceptive and also suggested that Buhari was one of the most beneficiaries of deceptive structure of the country, thereby making it difficult for him (Buhari) to accept all the advices be given to restructure Nigeria.
He therefore, dropped the hint that he would inform his Legal Counsel to file an application on his behalf before the appropriate Court of competent jurisdiction to seek disqualification of the President Buhari in the 2019 Presidential election as suggested by the nation’s electoral umpire.
According to him, “We should not be economical with the truth. Nobody is claiming that President Muhammad Buhari is not qualified to contest but presentation of fake and forged Statement of Result to seek elective office, render him automatically disqualified and be prosecuted as such. Until Buhari presents the Certificate of his acclaimed 1961 Statement of Result, he is not eligible to contest.
“Recently, immediate past Minister for Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun was tender her resignation as a result of presenting a fake NYSC Exemption Certificate. Now, what is different between President Muhammadu Buhari and Mrs. Kemi Adeosun? There is no moral justification for Buhari to accept Kemi Adeosun’s resignation letter if he too could not resign for submitting forged and fake Statement of Result to INEC.”