In light of recent allegations of academic certificate forgery against him, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has asserted to the All Progressives Congress screening committee for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state that his credentials are authentic.
The governor said this on Friday when he became the first aspirant to be cleared by the APC screening committee ahead of the party’s governorship primary slated for April 20.
Having bought the party’s N50 million governorship nomination forms, the governor had in recent times been having a running battle with some other aspirants on the party’s platform in the state, among which are Mr Wale Akinterinwa, Mr Mayowa Akinfolarin, Prof Francis Faduyile, Mr Isaacs Kekemeke, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), Mr Gbenga Edema, and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
The battle had centred on his credentials, following a petition written by a legal practitioner, Oladotun Hassan, to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Commission, alleging that a top-ranking officer was planning to tamper with the report of an ongoing probe into the governor’s academic certificates.
But addressing journalists at the APC national secretariat after his screening on Friday, Aiyedatiwa said, “Screening is one of the processes aspirants have to go through. Mine has just been done this morning and all documents that were submitted have to be verified and questions asked where some are not too clear to the screening committee. Questions were asked and answered.
“At the end of the day, I have been cleared, especially on the issue that has to do with my certificate that a petition was written. Today, that has been put to rest. My certificates are genuine and authentic.
“I think it is a kind of mischief by some aspirants who see me as the man to beat and had to look for a way to discredit my person. Today, it has been verified and put to rest.”
According to Aiyedatiwa, the then governor of Lagos, Lateef Jakande, was compelled to merge some schools, particularly those affected by a flood, with the Ikosi High School that he attended.
As a student of history, you will recall that in 1989 when Lateef Jakande became governor of Lagos State private schools were taken over. Schools were built for the communities. And Ikosi High School that I attended is one of those schools built by the government of Lateef Jakande.
“So, it is on record that the school was established in 1980 and at that time, I was already in Form three in a private school, New Nation, in Ikosi while Royal Comprehensive High School is in Ajegunle Ikorudu, very close to Ketu,” he added.
