Army Denies Holding Buhari’s Certificates

L-R: Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Rivers State, Hon. Chuma .C. Chinye, with his Perm Sec., Ms. Kadilo Brown, Chairman of the occassion and Managing Director, Wel-ted Ltd. Mr. Perro Egbe at the public presntation of the Yellow Pages Directory, Organised by Min of Commerce and Industry at Atlantic Hall, Hotel Presidential Port Harcourt, recently. Photo: Egberi .A. Sampson

The Military Board has denied being in possession of the original credentials of former Head of State and Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).
The former military general had explained in an affidavit submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that all his academic credentials were with the military board.
However, against the backdrop of Buhari’s affidavit in court, a military source said ”that the Army can not keep anybody’s original certificate because it is the personal property of the owner,” adding that such original certificates were only needed at the point of entry into the service.
The source said that the Military only kept photocopies of credentials of officers and soldiers in their personal files that were in the military secretary’s office.
“The original certificate of any officer or soldier is only needed at the point of entry into the service either as a cadet officer entering the Nigerian Defence Academy, or the recruitment officers when interviewing recruits to be sent to the depot for training. That is so, because they are needed to verify what were in the photocopies supplied by them or from the necessary examining bodies.”
He further added, “Let me tell you now, in the Navy, the Navy Secretary, NAVSEC, keep the documents of all Naval officers and ratings and not their original certificates which are their personal property.”
Meanwhile, the Movement for Institutional Integrity, a non-governmental organisation, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify candidates with questionable certificates.
This is contained in a statement by Malam Usman Rabiu, its National Coordinator, in Abuja on Saturday.
It stated that some certificate forgery had been reported, and yet nothing had been done by concerned authorities to substantiate and chastise the candidates.