ADEMETO ADELEKAN
THE Independent National Electoral Commission has said it is not in a position to disqualify Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on the basis of alleged irregularities in the certificates he presented to the Commission.
INEC argued that the presented certificates were presumed authentic until otherwise ruled by the Court.
The Point had reported that the Peoples Democratic Party had explained the discrepancy in Obaseki’s University of Ibadan certificate.
The party said the governor, while filling the forms for the election in 2016, “had mistakenly filled in 1976 as the year of graduation, which was actually the year of his admission into UI.”
The PDP also explained that some information was missing in the certificate because the “original certificate was issued in A5 size. However, in order for the photocopy to be attached to the Form CF001, the size was reduced to A4 and in the process, leaving out some information on it.”
There had been a petition by the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and its governorship candidate, Iboi Emmanuel, accusing Governor Obaseki of forgery, giving false information and engaging in electoral malpractices.
The party asked the tribunal to disqualify Obaseki on the basis of an alleged controversial first degree certificate.
It also prayed the tribunal to order the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election and exclude only PDP and its candidate.
But INEC, the 1st respondent in ADP’s petition, also argued that it was not “the duty of the first respondent (INEC) to investigate the origin of the said documents duly submitted to it.”
INEC’s lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, noted, “The information given by the 3rd respondent (Mr. Godwin Obaseki) in the affidavit and documents submitted by him as a candidate at the election in INEC’s nomination form (Form C.F. 001) are presumed manifestly true or prima facie correct until and only if the contrary is proved and/or pronounced false by an order of the court.”
