Army speaks on Buhari’s certificates

Army speaks on Buhari’s certificates

ABUJA—As controversy continues to trail the academic qualifications of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major General Mohammadu Buhari, the Army, yesterday, said it was not in possession of Buhari’s credentials.

The APC presidential candidate, Major General Buhari had averred in an affidavit he deposed before an Abuja High Court that all his certificates were with the Secretary, Military Board, while submitting his Form 199A to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. But the Army, yesterday, denied being in possession of the APC candidate’s original certificates or the certified true copies. The outgoing Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Olajide Laleye, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, said: “The Nigerian Army does not have the original copy of his (Buhari) West African Examinations Council, WAEC result or a certified true copy.” But the APC in a swift reaction has warned that those who are bent on destroying Buhari on the basis of his certificates may end up destroying the country’s military. The army spokesman told newsmen that what the army had and which he displayed were the information contained in the forms Buhari filled at the point of his entry into the military and some letters of recommendation by Principal of Provincial Secondary School, Katsina. For the record Olajide said: “Records available indicate that Major General Muhammadu Buhari applied to join the military as a Form Six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina on October 18, 1961.

 His application was duly endorsed by the Principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him suitable for military commission.” The report which was shown to newsmen, read: “I recommend Muhammadu Buhari fit for military commission.” On Buhari’s result, the Principal also wrote, “I consider that he will pass Maths, English and three other subjects.” Laleye said the briefing was necessitated by deluge of requests from civil society groups and the media among others, over General Buhari’s eligibility for any political office. He said: “It is a practice in the Nigerian Army that before candidates are short-listed for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the service, the selection board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented. “However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 60s. Nevertheless, the entry made on the Nigerian Army Form 199A at the point of documentation after commission as an officer indicated that the former head of state obtained the West African School Certificate, WASC, in 1961 with credits in relevant subjects: English Language, Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa and a pass in English Literature. “Neither the original copy, Certified True Copy, CTC, nor statement of result of Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s WASC result is in his personal file. What I have said here is what is contained in his service records’ personal file. We have not added or subtracted anything.

Earlier, Brig-General Laleye, said: “Let me state clearly that the Nigerian Army holds the retired senior officer in very high esteem and respect and would not be a party to any controversy surrounding his eligibility for any political office. Suffice it to state that Major General Buhari rose steadily to the enviable rank of Major General before becoming head of state of our dear country in December 1983.”

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