John Mayaki, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and member of the National Campaign Council for the Anambra state governorship election has said the party has uncovered a plot to discredit the governorship candidate of the APC – Senator Andy Uba.
Mayaki said some individuals without any useful agenda, have concluded plans to smear candidate Uba with the unfounded accusation that he forged his WAEC candidate.
He described the accusation as “most laughable” given the well-documented fact that Uba obtained a verifiably authentic WAEC certificate from the Union Secondary School, Awkunawa in Enugu state.
“Some persons who have no agenda to sell to the Anambra people are finalizing plans with some dubious media characters and platforms to amplify a smear that Senator Andy Uba forged his WAEC certificate,” Mayaki said in a statement to BusinessDay.
Since 2017, the senator’s secondary school certification has been locked in controversy. The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) declared in 2017 that senator Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba, better known as Andy Uba, forged both a secondary school certificate and “Confirmation of Result” which he presented to British authorities.
A suit was filed against him, seeking the sacking of the lawmaker representing Anambra South Senatorial District in the same year. But the Abuja High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Apo, Abuja, dismissed the suit as frivolous and vexatious.
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The judge, according to reports, held that the suit lacked merit and constituted a gross abuse of the court process.
However, it appears the matter is still lingering in the political corridors of the state, lingering enough to force Mayaki to raise alarm for a potential attempt to use it to malign the senator.
According to him, “the falsehood” may have warranted consideration were it not for the fact that some of the classmates of the senator, who sat with him for the examination are alive and able to attest to the fact that he obtained a verifiably authentic WAEC certificate from the Union Secondary School, Awkunawa, Enugu State in 1974.
Describing the senator as a man whose quest for knowledge is foregrounded by the other degrees he has acquired in Nigeria and abroad, he noted that Uba’s credentials have undergone and passed several authenticity checks and scrutiny by respected local and foreign institutions.
He revealed the senator has presented the same certificate as part of his academic qualifications to INEC in all the times he has run for office, adding that Nigerians and other interested parties have been urged to conduct independent checks of their own with the public disclosure of his examination number, which is 05465/089.
He described the situation as beyond absurd, and a disappointing pointer to the emptiness of these persons, stating that it is an attempt to rehash a matter that has been put paid to with hopes that their falsehood can travel faster than the vindicating truth.
“At this critical juncture in the state’s political history, what is required are useful debates and engagements on policies and programs, not cheap shots and black propaganda premised on falsehood.
“These persons should be advised that their emptiness is a burden they will have to bear alone, as these repeated attempts to distract the issue-based and popular campaign of Senator Andy Uba and the APC with frivolities will always fail,” he said.
