Leadership (Abuja)
Golu Timothy
28 August 2008
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), may have sacked one of its staff for her alleged complicity in the certificate controversy surrounding Kogi State governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.
The regional examinations body is said to have sacked the female staff who is believed to have issued the original copy of the controversial General Certificate Examination (GCE) O'Level bearing the name, Ibrahim Idris Adejoh, with an embossed picture of a young man in his twenties, on it, to the political opponents of the governor.
The governor's political foes are now using the document as the key exhibit in their case against his re-election at his on-going Kogi State election petition tribunal.
WAEC had, a fortnight ago, refused to honour the subpoena served on it by the tribunal compelling it to appear before it and testify in the case of allegation that the O'Level certificate being bandied around by Idris was not his own.
The subpoena was served on the Zonal Co-coordinator of WAEC in Sokoto State, where the controversial candidate sat for the examination and also received his certificate. But the co-ordinator, whose name was not mentioned in the court, refused to honour the subpoena.
But when the certificate forgery became the main controversial issue at the tribunal, WAEC was alleged to have quietly sacked the woman to make it difficult, if not impossible, for her to be invited to testify at the tribunal.
The woman, according to our source, is weighing the option of seeking redress in court against the examination body.
The source disclosed that her sack was done as a cover up. "They sacked her in order to cover up the truth. But the truth will not be covered up forever. One day it will be made manifest," the source said.
The examination body was listed as one of its witnesses by the petitioner, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, and its candidate in the last governorship election rerun in the state, Prince Abubakar Audu.
Chairman of the tribunal, Honourable Justice Abdullahi Yusuf, declared the disregard of a subpoena as an insult on the judiciary.
WAEC introduced embossment of pictures on certificate of students to prevent candidates from employing others to write the examinations for them while they later claim the certificate.
The governor is in his fifties, while the examination for which the controversial certificate was issued, was taken in 2001 in Sokoto State. But it was observed that the person in the picture embossed on the certificate was a young man who could not be more than 20 years old.
"Ignoring subpoena is a contempt of court, which carries prison terms, but before such action can be taken the prosecution counsel must write to the tribunal demanding the arrest and punishment of such person committing the contempt," the lawyer said.
Apart from WAEC, the University of Abuja is also said to be hiding vital data that would confirm the authenticity or otherwise of the governor's credentials.
The university's Registrar, Malam Mohammed Bello Moddibo, while appearing before the tribunal, shocked everybody when he revealed that the file containing the governor's academic data was missing.
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There are many Toronto graduates in the government now a days. may God deliever this nation. if the allegation was not why did WAEC has to sank the women. The head of this Almighty baba Yaba need to be questioned, for sacking a principal withness. Na wa for naija o.