There are strong indications that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state may find it difficult to pass through the gubernatorial screening of the All Progressives Congress (APC) due to alleged discrepancies in his secondary school certificate.
The APC has scheduled its governorship primary election in Ondo state for April 20, 2024.
The party secretariat in Abuja is said to have received a copy of the police report signed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tahir Usman, which indicated that the governor did not attend the secondary school he claimed to have attended.
A certified true copy of the police report said Aiyedatiwa was never a student of Ikosi High School, Ketu, Lagos state, as he claimed in the information he gave to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prior to the 2020 gubernatorial election in the state.
The Public gathered that the party leadership in Abuja had forwarded the copy to its legal department for legal advice and recommendations.
A source within the party said the legal department has cautioned against a repeat of the November 2019 Bayelsa State incident, where the Supreme Court sacked the APC governor-elect, David Lyon, just 24 hours before his swearing-in
“The issue in Ondo State regarding the governor’s certificate is a banana peel that the party must avoid. We do not want a repeat of the Bayelsa State incident.
“The party is aware that the PDP in the state is in comatose, and whoever emerges from the PDP primary will be unable to match the APC candidate. So we do not want a situation in which the PDP candidate waits for us in court to get a victory he did not get during the election.
“In the November 2019 election, APC won Bayelsa state by a landslide, but the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the PDP, citing a faulty certificate submitted by Lyon’s running mate.
“Another issue is that our party is not willing to defend any candidate with questionable credentials. You recall what the party went through over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s certificate until he was cleared by the Supreme Court.
“If any aspirant is having problems with his or her certificate, he or she should go to court to resolve the issue,” the source said.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka’s phone lines were not reachable at the time of filing this report.
Some aspirants including Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organization and Gbenga Edema had earlier challenged Aiyedatiwa to come clean on the allegation of his certificate scandal.
But in his reaction to the police report, Yomi Oyekan, Special Assistant to the Governor (Digital Media), confirmed discrepancies in the certificate of the governor but dismissed them as minor.
Oyekan said: “Despite mentions of discrepancies regarding his educational background, such inconsistencies do not invalidate his possession of the minimum requirement – a valid O/Level certificate or its equivalent. Legally speaking, meeting this criterion suffices, irrespective of minor factual deviations.”
He added: “After a thorough examination of the Police Investigation Report and a sponsored advertisement, it becomes evident that the concerns regarding the authenticity of the Governor’s credentials are unwarranted.
“The investigative findings confirm Governor Aiyedatiwa’s successful completion of his WAEC (GCE) O/L examination at Ikosi Ketu, Lagos, supported by tangible evidence.”
Aiyedatiwa, who has officially declared his intention to run in the state’s governorship election on November 16, is one of over 15 candidates vying for the APC ticket.
