As well meaning Nigerians are still reacting and commenting on the
controversy surrounding the basic requirement certificate(SSCE) to vie
for the office of the President of the Presidential candidate of the
All Progressives Congress(APC),General Muhammadu Buhari,a human rights
group in Nigeria, the Centre for Human Rights and Social
Justice(CHRSJ) has called on the Professional and Trade Union groups
such as Nigeria Bar Association(NBA),Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC)
,Nigeria Medical Association(NMA),Academic Staff Union of
University(ASUU) and host of others as well as the human rights
community in the country to speak out on the issue of Buhari
certificate saga which is endangering the political landscape as the
Country is moving towards electing the next President on February
14,2015,stressing that the issue has been given a great stigma to the
country in the comity of nations of the world.
The group also stated that the silence of these groups over the matter
of national importance of this nature were tantamount to acceptability
of the Statement of Result as fake and General Buhari was not
qualified to present himself for the office of the President because
he(Buhari) failed to meet up with the required of Laws of the land.
They further said that the groups have been in forefront of the
agitation to return back of Nigeria to democracy and they should not
allow ex-military leaders who made democracy to be difficult to
truncate the current nurturing democracy in Nigeria,adding that they
have also made their position known on the postponement of the 2015
general elections.
Speaking through a Statement issued and signed by the Centre’s
Executive Chairman,Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman ,which a copy was
made available to newsmen in Lagos yesterday,strongly condemned the
silence of the groups when they were to speak truth on the issue as
major stakeholders in the polity of the county,quoting late Chief Gani
Fawehinmi who told his disciples to “stand up for what is
right,even,if they are standing alone”.
Comrade Sulaiman who doubles as Convener,Save Lagos Group(SLG),thrown
the groups’ weight behind the case instituted by a Nigerian
Lawyer,Barrister Chike Okafor that the Federal High Court should
disqualify General Buhari from contesting the 2015 presidential
election,saying that once General Buhari has failed to meet up with
the basic requirement law in filling CF001 form submitted to the
Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) which requested a
candidate to attach his or her credential to the form,Buhari should
not waste the precious time of Nigerians by withdrawing himself from
the Presidential race.
CHRSJ boss who advised the APC leaders in the country to tell its
Presidential candidate,General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd) to write the
University of Cambridge which conducted the Buhari claimed Senior
Secondary School Examination in 1961,insisting that General Buhari was
not qualified to contest the Presidential election until he provided
the photocopy of authentic certificate to electoral body as being
required by Law of the land.
It would be recalled that the Okafor’s case is suit No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/01/2015.It is based on section 131 of the Constitution,
which prescribes a minimum qualification for nomination to participate
in presidential election and section 31 of the Electoral Act that
stipulates all presidential candidates to depose an affidavit in proof
of compliance with constitutional requirement to be President of
Nigeria.
The claimant further claimed that General Buhari failed to prove that
he had the minimum educational qualification to contest for the
election. The claimant further claimed that General Buhari’s affidavit
certifying his West African School Leaving Certificate (WASC) is
false, and also claims that the certificates in the custody of the
military had been denied by the Director of Army Public Relations,
Brigadier General Olajide Laleye.
Signed By
Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman
Executive Chairman,
Centre for Human rights and Social Justice(CHRSJ)/
Convener,Save Lagos Group(SLG)
08038591504,08022697573