Aiyedatiwa Clears Air On Academic Certificate Forgery Allegations

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa clears air on academic certificate forgery allegations.
Becomes the first aspirant to be cleared by the APC screening committee for the upcoming gubernatorial election.
Dispute arises among party aspirants in Ondo State amidst the governor’s clearance.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that in response to recent allegations of academic certificate forgery, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa assured the All Progressives Congress screening committee for the upcoming gubernatorial election that his credentials are authentic.

Governor Aiyedatiwa made this statement on Friday as he became the first aspirant to be cleared by the APC screening committee for the party’s gubernatorial primary scheduled for April 20.

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Purchasing the party’s N50 million governorship nomination forms, Governor Aiyedatiwa found himself embroiled in a dispute with several other aspirants within the party’s ranks in the state. Among these aspirants are Wale Akinterinwa, Mayowa Akinfolarin, Prof Francis Faduyile, Isaacs Kekemeke, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), 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.

But in his reaction at the screening, another aspirant, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, taunted the governor, even as he displayed his entire academic and award certificates to journalists at the screening.

Ibrahim said the governor was only trying to ride his way into the Government House again on the back of the ticket of late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and a few endorsements he got from the State House of Assembly.

He said, “As you can see, all my credentials and certificates are complete. What has Aiyedatiwa achieved? He was just a pair to Aketi. We didn’t vote for him. It was Aketi we voted for. But I can assure you, the governor is a huge joker. He can’t continue in government with his P8 and P7 (alleged grades). The governor will be out of that place by the time we finish the APC primary next week. He is gone and there is nothing he can do about it.