An FCT High Court sitting in Bwari Area Council, Abuja on Tuesday nullified the nomination of Senator Ademola Adeleke as candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the September. 22, 2018 Osun State governorship election.
Adeleke, who represents Osun West Senatorial District at the National Assembly was the PDP’s candidate in the 2018 governorship election in the state.
Two Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, had in 2018 barely few days to the governorship election in Osun State filed the suit against Adeleke, alleging that he does not have the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest the governorship election.
They prayed the court for an order to disqualify him from participating in the election on the grounds that he does not possess the needed educational qualification.
Delivering judgment in the suit yesterday, Justice Justice Oathman Musa annulled Adeleke’s nomination, adding Adeleke offended section 177 of the 1999 constitution as amended.
The section stipulates that candidates for the position of governor must be educated up to secondary school level.
According to Justice Musa, while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record to show that he actually graduated as his name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.
Justice Musa further stated that the result Adeleke attached to his form CF001 which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.
Recall that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) during the court’s proceedings confirmed that Adeleke sat for the May/June examination of the council in 1981.
The council in an affidavit deposed to by one Osindeinde Adewunmi and filed at the registry of the FCT High Court confirmed that Adeleke sat for the Senior Secondary School exams in May/ June 1981.
The confirmation was contained in a four paragraph affidavit filed in compliance with the order of Justice Oathman Musa requesting the examination body to confirm whether the governorship candidate sat for the 1981 exams.
Justice Musa, had in a ruling delivered on September 11 directed that WAEC should depose an affidavit, to either deny or confirm that Adeleke sat for the Exams the Council conducted at Ede Muslim High School in Ede, Osun State, in 1981.
It equally said the examination body should file the ledger containing results of Ademola and his mates with whom he sat for the examinations, as well the verifying affidavit, within five days of being served with the enrolled order dated September 11.
WAEC however in the sworn affidavit confirmed that Adeleke with centre number 19645 and candidate number 149 indeed sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 conducted by the council at Ede Muslim School situate at P.O. Box 6, Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun.
Accompanying the affidavit was a ledger containing the result of all candidates (001-221), who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in the said school.
The certified true copy of the ledger which is marked as exhibit WA1, however showed that Senator Adeleke, sat for only English Language in the examination.
In arguing their case the plaintiffs in through their counsel, Bankole Akomolafe, on Sept 11 claimed that the PDP candidate did not sit for the WAEC examination in 1981 because the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced in the country as at then.
They further alleged that the NECO examination he claimed to have sat for could not be genuine because National Examination Council (NECO) had not been established at the time Adeleke claimed to have sat for the examination.
Felix Omohomhion, Abuja
