Buhari's certificate.SeebelowThe All Progressives Congress (APC) has
warned that those who are bent on destroying its Presidential
Candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on the basis of his
certificates may end up destroying the country's military.In a
statement issued in Lagoson Tuesday by its National Publicity Sec.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party warned that the PDP and the Jonathan
Administration are playing a dangerous game by trying to compromise
the military in order to satisfy selfish political objectives, and
urged the military, as a symbol of national unity, to beware of those
who may be seeking to use it to achieve selfish and divise ends.It
said the statement credited to the Nigerian Army Director, Army Public
Relations, Brig-Gen. Olajide Olaleye, at a press conference in Abujaon
Tuesday, that the Army is not in possession of Gen. Buhari's
certificates, is in direct conflict with what he said on Jan. 4th 2015
on the same issue.''
In an interview with the Punch on Jan. 4th 2015, Brig.-Gen. Olaleye
said: 'Every serving and retired Army officer has at least a copy of
his certficates and credentials kept in the Nigerian Army while that
same serving and retired officer hascopies 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,'' APC said.But more worrisome, the
party said, is the statement credited to Brig.-Gen. Olaleye that there
was no evidence that the certificates of all those who joined the army
in the early 1960s were verified by the selection board.''
Is he now saying that all those who were commissioned intothe officer
cadres in the 1960s did not have their certificates verified? Does
this not confirm what we said that in trying to destroy Gen. Buhari,
the PDP and the Jonathan Administration will end up destroying the
army as an institution?
Or is it only Gen. Buhari that was commissioned into the army in the
1960s,'' it said.The party also quoted Gen. Buhari as saying in an
affidavit on24/11/2014 that ''All my academic qualifications documents
as filled in my presidential form, President APC/001/2015 arecurrently
with the Secretary Military Board as at the time of this
affidavit.''''Those who are behind the latest controversy should now
tell Nigerians what happened to Gen. Buhari's certificates between the
time of his affidavit and now,'' it said.
APC said in any case, even if the Army now says it does not have the
certificates of Gen. Buhari, he is still very qualified to run for the
country's highest office, as stipulated by the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.The party quoted Section 131 (d) of the
Constitution: ''A person shall be qualified for election to the office
of President if he has been educated up to at least School Certificate
levelor its equivalent''APC said the meaning and interpretation of
''School Certificate level or its equivalent can be found in the
Constitution under part IV, Section 318. In that Section, a ''School
Certificate or ot equivalent'' is defined quite succinctly thus:(a) A
Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, Grade II Teacher's
Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or(b) Education up to
Secondary School Certificate Level; or(c) Primary Six School Leaving
Certificate or its equivalent.The party said since Brig.-Gen. Olaleye
has now confirmed that Gen. Buhari indeed applied to join the Army
from form six, that the principal of the school he attended even
attestedto his suitability, and that the form he filled contained his
Secondary School Certificate results, there is no scintilla of doubt
about his qualification to run for president as stipulatedby the
Constitution.
"However, 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 will face no
challenge in next month's election. This is wishful thinking,'' it
said.APC said the PDP and the Jonathan Administration should expend
their energy on how to revive their floundering campaign instead of
seeking the disqualification of its (APC) candidate.On the
contradictions in the statements credited to the Armyspokesman, the
party said: ''It is true that our once globally-respected military has
now been made comatose by the PDP-led Federal Government, but we
believe things have not reached the level where the same military will
be engaging inactions that amount to self destruction, just to satisfy
some political interests.''We believe things have not reached a level
where we, as a nation, will now be giving the impression that a man
who roseto become a Major-General in the Nigerian Army does not have
requisite qualifications?''What really is happening in our country if
some politicians have now decided to engage in an action that will
amount to dragging the military into politics, dividing an institution
that is a symbol of national unity, trivializing the service of those
who fought to keep Nigeria one and ridiculing the same country it is
supposed to be ruling?''We have said it before and will like to
repeat: Enough is enough about this distraction orchestrated by the
PDP and the Jonathan Administration whose electioneering campaign for
next month's polls has suffered a train wreck,'' the party said
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