The Lagos State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to compromise the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and pressure the examination body to validate Sanwo-Olu’s 1981 WAEC result certificate which was not captured in the forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the 2023 election.
The PDP which is changing the second term re-election win of Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the in the 2023 election said that Sanwo-Olu WAEC Statement of Result issued by (Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School, ljebu Ife for May/June 1981 GCE O Level Examination with examination number 17624/118, which he submitted for his first term election was not confirmed by WAEC.
It further said that pressure was being mounted on WAEC from powerful quarters to validate Sanwo-Olu’s ‘lack of verified’ result which is part of the grounds of PDP governorship candidate, Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran’s petition at the election petition tribunal..
APC Publicity Secretary in Lagos, Seye Oladejo however dismissed the claims by the PDP and Eko United and noted that he will not comment on a matter already before the court.
He said, “I am absolutely certain that it is subjudice to comment on a matter that is already before a tribunal of competent jurisdiction. We are not going to join the opposition party in its lawlessness. It is just a matter of time for the truth to be revealed.”
The WAEC Public Relations Officer, Moyosola Adesina said she is not aware of Eko Unite’s petition.
The Lagos PDP had Thursday released a document by Eko United alleging attempts to pressure WAEC into verifying Sanwo-Olu’s results and backdating same to make him eligible for the election.
In a letter titled ‘The Babajide Sanwo-Olu WAEC Certificate Saga: Open Letter to West African Examination Council (WAEC)’ dated April 19, 2023, and addressed to Head of WAEC National Office, Mr Patrick Areghan. Eko United alleged that the examination council is under pressure to compromise its standards by issuing the Lagos state Governor a certificate he did not merit.
The letter signed by Ayodele Kumolu Johnson, Public Relations Officer of Eko United, read: “We write to formally notify you about current findings that Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, does not have a 1981 WAEC result/certificate as claimed by him in his documentation to INEC.
“Since the news broke, we have very credible intel disclosing concerted efforts to have your reputable organisation compromise by miraculously validating Mr Sanwo-Olu’s purported 1981 WAEC Certificate, which had hitherto been confirmed via your WAEC DIRECT PORTAL, your only approved portal for result verification through the Access Scratch card, to be non-existent.
“It became imperative to write you this open letter to let you know that the entire nation is watching and that concerted efforts are also in place to expose all culprits of such dubious miracle, especially when the said WAEC result has been a public document and duly verified invalid.
“We are encouraged that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has been living up to expectations and we believe that this case won’t be an exception.
“It is also pertinent to bring your kind attention to the petition submitted by the Lagos State PDP Gubernatorial Candidate to the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Lagos State; in which the discovered invalid WAEC results of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is one of the issues already flagged in the petition before the Tribunal.
“In the petition, PDP through the CTC of Form ECS that Governor Sanwo-Olu submitted to INEC, discovered he failed to attach a copy of the certificate he claimed to have obtained in 1981 along with his form as required by the Electoral Act 2022. This development sparked curiosity, which informed PDP applying for the CTC of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s 2019 form CF001.
“It was then discovered that a Statement of Result issued by (Ijebu Ife Community Grammar School, ljebu Ife for May/June 1981 GCE O Level Examination with examination number 17624/118 which he submitted for his first term election as governor of the state was not confirmed by WAEC through its legal means to confirm results.
“Investigations by our team revealed that officials of WAEC are running up and down to compromise the WAEC system.