LAGOS, NIGERIA — The West African Examination Council, WAEC, has found itself in the center of a political maelstrom.
Eko United Group, a non-political organization, has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Council to produce the high school certificate of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, threatening legal action should they fail to comply.
The demand was made during a press conference on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Lagos, amid allegations that Governor Sanwo-Olu presented a forged statement of WAEC results to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, during his 2019 gubernatorial bid.
Such an action could potentially lead to the Governor’s disqualification as per section 182 (1) j of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of Eko United Group, its publicity secretary Hon. Ayodele Kumolu-Johnson stated, “After WAEC failed to tender Governor Sanwo-Olu’s certificate at the tribunal and having waited this long on our governor to also put a lie to the weighty allegation by going public with the original copy of his WAEC certificate or compel WAEC to produce a certified true copy of the same if he has lost the original, we deem it imperative to use this world Press Conference to call on WAEC to produce Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s 1981 certificate in the next 48 hours or be ready for litigation in this regard.”
He added, “It is quite unfathomable that Gov. Sanwo-Olu, who claimed under oath in his form EC9 for the 2023 election that he sat for WAEC in 1981, refused to attach the said certificate as claimed. However, he attached a statement of WAEC results from Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School in his Form CF001 while standing for election earlier in 2019.”
The allegations and ensuing ultimatum have ratcheted up political tension in the state.
How WAEC responds to this request, and the potential repercussions for Governor Sanwo-Olu, could profoundly affect the political landscape in Lagos and beyond.
