A petition seen by SaharaReporters has given more insight into why Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, was disqualified from the selection process of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the governorship election in the state.
Obaseki, who has been at war with APC’S National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, was on Friday disqualified over issues relating to discrepancies in his academic credentials.
The screening committee for the Edo State governorship primary of the APC also disqualified Chris Ogiemwonyi, a former Minister of State for Works, and Mathew Iduoriyekenwen, a former Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly.
The petition seen by SaharaReporters among other things said that said that Obaseki’s O/Level results showed that he had three credits and that he spent only three years to bag a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Studies from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, in 1976 without an A/Level result. Godwin Obaseki
The petition, which was sent to the Chairman of the APC governorship screening committee by some concerned members of the party in the state, warned that the party would be risking another Bayelsa scenario if Obaseki was not disqualified.
The petition reads, “That Godwin Obaseki submitted a false affidavit to INEC on 12th July, 2016 contrary to the provisions of Section (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act.
“That the Peoples Democratic Party suspected the affidavit to be false and got their lawyers to write the FCT High Court requesting for a certified true copy of the affidavit on 2nd September, 2016.”
The petitioners said in response to PDP’s request, the Abuja High Court denied issuing any affidavit to the governor.
It added, “Any political party that fields such a disqualified candidate would be fined under section 31(8) of the Electoral Act.
“The problem with Obaseki educational history is that it appears fraudulent as no explanation has been reasonably offered why a four-year academic programme was completed in three years against the established course requirement for the completion of a degree programme in Classical Studies.
“It is indeed very questionable when one imagines how Mr Obaseki secured admission into University of Ibadan with just three credit passes in his ordinary level certificate at a time when the educational system was purely on merit.”
The petition also noted that the three-year degree programme was and is still applicable to only students with advanced level certificate/Diploma/National Certificate of Education, adding that the governor never showed that he possessed an A’Level certificate to qualify for a three-year programme.
Obaseki had since said he will not appeal the decision of the screening committee while there are reports that he is already being courted by other political parties ahead of the governorship election in the state in September.