The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming September 22 governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has said that his poor result in secondary school will not limit his performance in office, if elected as the state’s helmsman at the poll.
Adeleke assured the people of Osun State that as the governor, he would surround himself with the best brains that would take the state to greater heights.
He stressed that his poor academic performance in his secondary school certificate examination would not inhibit him from performing well, if elected governor.
I’m educationally qualified, but I’ll surround myself with the best of brains
The incumbent senator representing Osun West Senatorial District, also said inspite of what was contained in his secondary school certificate in which he had F9 grade in English Language while other subjects were withheld, he possessed the required educational qualification to contest the governorship election in line with the nation’s constitution.
Justice David Oladimeji of an Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo, had dismissed the suit challenging Adeleke’s eligibility to contest in the poll. The judge affirmed that no case of certificate forgery was established against the Senator.
In his ruling, the Judge, who cited several previous rulings on similar cases, explained that Senator Adeleke was qualified to run for the gubernatorial position, having satisfied the requirements of Section 177, Subsection (D) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.
The court affirmed that Senator Adeleke did not need to pass the secondary school examination or provide the WASCE certificate.
All he required, according to the court, was evidence that he attended Ede Muslim Grammar School (now Ede Muslim High School), despite glaring irregularities that characterised the certificate tendered.
But Adeleke, while speaking through his counsel, Niyi Owolade, said he was competent to govern the state contrary to arguments.
He said he had served in corporate organisations and had done “excellently well,” saying that governing Osun would not be an exception.
The candidate said so many people wanted to prevent him from contesting by all means, “but there is a living God. I have nothing to worry about. Whatever God has designed, nobody can stop it. There is more to this.
“In accordance with the law, I am educationally qualified based on what I tendered. I am not incompetent as people claimed. I will surround myself with the best of brains, if I become governor of Osun State.”
The PDP flagbearer called on those who took him to court and other aggrieved groups, to forget the past and join hands with his team to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress and other parties during the September poll.
He said, “I have extended hands of fellowship and brotherhood to all aggrieved party members, including those who took me to court. Let us move forward. Political contest cannot be without grievances. We, however, must act beyond personal interests to consider the burden of leadership placed on all of us .Our followers are worried; they are fed up with the bickering and mudslinging. Now that all doubts have been cleared and rumours laid to rest, let us now commence the active and arduous task of aggressive campaigning. We are all stakeholders in this victory and coming victory in September by the grace of God!
“The suffering people of Osun State are patiently waiting on us. They know PDP is the only party that can stop the continuation of inhuman government and end the legacy of poverty. The voters eagerly and earnestly look up to us, the expectations are huge. I urge that we cannot afford to disappoint them.”
But a human rights activist and cleric, Bishop Seun Adeoye, has described Adeleke as a mediocrity and an incompetent person, who is unfit to contest the governorship election, not to talk of governing a state like Osun.
Adeoye, who is the General Overseer of Sufficient Grace and Truth Christian Church in Osun State, said the nation’s constitution was giving room for mediocrity and incompetent persons at the helm of affairs.
He expressed displeasure over the court’s dismissal of the suit, insisting that Adeleke lacked the academic qualification to even contest the governorship
race.