You don’t need WAEC certificate to become president or governor —Keyamo

Director, Strategic Communications of President Buhari 2019 Presidential Campaign, Festus Keyamo ( SAN ) , has said that , based on the provisions of the Constitution , an aspirant does not need a WAEC certificate to become a president or governor in the country.

Taking to his verified Twitter handle
@ fkeyamo on Monday, Keyamo had stated, “ There are other levels of qualifications to run for the office of president . In fact , 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. ”

Keyamo had tweeted his responses at a television interview earlier held on Sunday.
While Keyamo appears to be answering back at the Peoples Democratic Party who had argued that Muhammadu Buhari didn ’ t deserve to run for presidency on account of the controversies surrounding his WAEC certificate , the Buhari campaign spokesperson alluded to the 2018 Osun governorship election scenario .

In the Osun case, PDP ’ s candidate in the election , Ademola Adeleke , was sued in separate instances by the opposition and also by members of his party concerning the status of his WAEC certificate .

Keyamo argues , “ Yes . Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution defines ‘ School Certificate or its equivalent ’ to mean Primary 6 School Leaving Certificate plus the ability to just speak , write , understand and communicate in English language to the satisfaction of INEC . No WAEC certificate is needed .
“ By the definition of ‘ School Certificate or its equivalent ’ in Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution , you don’ t need a WAEC certificate to become President or Governor , but if you present a FORGED WAEC or other certificate to INEC for any office you will be disqualified . # OsunStateScenario . ”
He added that forgery occurs when the supposed author of a document denies ever making it or denies its authenticity .
Zeroing in on his principal ’ s certificate imbroglio , Keyamo tweets , “ WAEC has confirmed the authenticity of PMB ’ s certificate by issuing an attestation of it . Case closed .

“ In Osun case scenario , WAEC has denied the authenticity . See the difference ?
Taking a swipe at those who had criticised President Muhammadu Buhari ’ s WAEC status, the SAN warned that it was “ extremely foolish ” for anybody who is not statutorily empowered to issue WAEC certificates to challenge the body that has the statutory power to issue certificates .
“ Let me end my free lecture series by saying that the crux of the matter is that if you don’ t have a WAEC certificate , there ’ s no need to go ahead and forge one in a bid to be governor or president .

You can still be qualified, regardless . That ’ s the mistake made in Osun case scenario , ”

Download Edujandon.com News App QR-Code

Edujandon.com - 24/7 News Upda

Developer: Edujandon Enterprises

Price: Free