Buhari’s certificate: Jonathan may end up destroying the military, warns APC

Buhari’s certificate: Jonathan may end up destroying the military, warns APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned that
those who are bent on destroying its Presidential
Candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, on
the basis of his certificates may end up destroying
the country’s military.

In a statement in Lagos on Tuesday by its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party
warned that the PDP and the Jonathan.

Administration are playing a dangerous game by
trying to compromise the military to satisfy selfish
political objectives, and urged the military, as a
symbol of national unity, to beware of those who
may be seeking to use it to achieve selfish and
divise ends.

It said the statement credited to the Nigerian Army
Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Olajide
Olaleye, at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday,
that the Army is not in possession of Gen. Buhari’s
certificates, is in direct conflict with what he said on
January 4, 2015 on the same issue.

”In an interview with the Punch on Jan. 4th 2015,
Brig.-Gen. Olaleye said: ‘Every serving and retired
Army officer has, at least, a copy of his certficates
and credentials kept in the Nigerian Army while
that same serving and retired officer has copies of
those same certificates and credentials’.

”Is Brig.-Gen. Olaleye now saying that he did not
make that statement? If he did, what has happened
between then and now to make him to recant? It
will be interesting to know what has transpired
between then and now,” APC said.

But more worrisome, the party said, is the statement
credited to Brig.-Gen. Olaleye that there was no
evidence that the certificates of all those who joined
the army in the early 1960s were verified by the
selection board.

”Is he now saying that all those who were
commissioned into the officer cadres in the 1960s
did not have their certificates verified? Does this not
confirm what we said that in trying to destroy Gen.

Buhari, the PDP and the Jonathan Administration
will end up destroying the army as an institution?
Or is it only Gen. Buhari that was commissioned into
the army in the 1960s,” it said.

The party also quoted Buhari as saying in an
affidavit on 24/11/2014 that ”All my academic
qualifications documents as filled in my presidential
form, President APC/001/2015 are currently with the
Secretary Military Board as at the time of this
affidavit.”

”Those who are behind the latest controversy should
now tell Nigerians what happened to Gen. Buhari’s
certificates between the time of his affidavit and
now,” it said.

APC said in any case, even if the Army now says it
does not have the certificates of Gen. Buhari, he is
still very qualified to run for the country’s highest
office, as stipulated by the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The party quoted Section 131 (d) of the Constitution:
”A person shall be qualified for election to the office
of President if he has been educated up to at least
School Certificate level or its equivalent”.

APC said the meaning and interpretation of ”School
Certificate level or its equivalent can be found in
the Constitution under part IV, Section 318. In that
Section, a ”School Certificate or its equivalent” is
defined quite succinctly thus:

(a) A Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent,
Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds
Certificate; or
(b) Education up to Secondary School Certificate
Level; or
(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its
equivalent.

The party said since Brig.-Gen. Olaleye has now
confirmed that Gen. Buhari indeed applied to join
the Army from form six, that the principal of the
school he attended even attested to his suitability,
and that the form he filled contained his Secondary
School Certificate results, there is no scintilla of
doubt about his qualification to run for president as
stipulated by the Constitution.

”However, we know that the PDP and the Jonathan
Administration have constituted themselves into a
court of law and will like nothing more than the
disqualification of our candidate so they will face no
challenge in next month’s election. This is wishful
thinking,” it said.

APC said the PDP and the Jonathan Administration
should expend their energy on how to revive their
floundering campaign instead of seeking the
disqualification of its (APC) candidate.

On the contradictions in the statements credited to
the Army spokesman, the party said: ”It is true that
our once globally-respected military has now been
made comatose by the PDP-led Federal Government,
but we believe things have not reached the level
where the same military will be engaging in actions
that amount to self destruction, just to satisfy some
political interests.

”We believe things have not reached a level where
we, as a nation, will now be giving the impression
that a man who rose to become a Major-General in
the Nigerian Army does not have requisite
qualifications?

”What really is happening in our country if some
politicians have now decided to engage in an action
that will amount to dragging the military into
politics, dividing an institution that is a symbol of
national unity, trivializing the service of those who
fought to keep Nigeria one and ridiculing the same
country it is supposed to be ruling?

”We have said it before and will like to repeat:
Enough is enough about this distraction orchestrated
by the PDP and the Jonathan Administration whose
electioneering campaign for next month’s polls has
suffered a train wreck,” the party said.