A certified true copy of Police report circulating on social media says Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state was never a student of Ikosi High School, Ketu, Lagos state.
Aiyedatiwa was said to have claimed he attended the school in the information he gave to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prior to the 2020 gubernatorial election in the state.
He participated in the governorship poll as the running mate of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
The report, however, said Aiyedatiwa sat for the May/June 1982 West African Examination Council (WAEC) General Certificate of Education (GCE) O/L at Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, with Centre Number 15592 and Candidate Number 019.
The report, dated February 19, 2024, was signed by Tahir Usman, Deputy Commissioner of Police, for Commissioner of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja.
A Lagos-based legal practitioner, Oladotun Hassan, had reported a case of alleged fraudulent misrepresentation, certificate forgery, examination malpractices and perjury against Aiyedatiwa on June 2, 2023.
The petition was sent to the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, FCID, Abuja.
The legal practitioner had alleged that Aiyedatiwa submitted to INEC a certificate purportedly issued by WAEC in 1982, having sat for the May/June 1982 examinations at Ikosi High school.
He stated that upon enquiries, it was discovered that the school was founded in 1980 and could not be accredited by WAEC to conduct school certificate examinations in 1982 since it would just be two years old.
Oladotun also question Aiyedatiwa’s claim that he attended Saint Peter’s UNA (now FAC) Primary School, Obe Nla/Obe Adun, in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
According to the legal practitioner, the name of the governor did not appear in the school’s register and nobody who attended the school during the period could attest his studentship.
He also wondered when Aiyedatiwa attended Lagos State College of Education, Ijanikin, where he claimed to have obtained the Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) in 1986.
After preliminary investigation, it was discovered that Aiyedatiwa was never a student of Ikosi High School.
The police report said the name of the governor was not among the students offered admission or registered in the school as shown by the admission register from 1979 to 1982.
The report added that the school was established on January 29, 1980 and accredited by WAEC in 1985.
It, however, stated that Aiyedatiwa sat for the May/June 1982 WAEC GCE examination with Centre Number 15592 and Candidate Number 019.
The report was silent on the other allegations raised by Oladotun.
Reacting to the report, Yom Oyekan, Special Assistant to the Governor (Digital Media), said: “The investigative findings confirm Governor Aiyedatiwa’s successful completion of his WAEC (GCE) O/L examination at Ikosi Ketu, Lagos, supported by tangible evidence.
“This verification unequivocally resolves any uncertainties regarding his eligibility for electoral contests.
“Despite mentions of discrepancies regarding his educational background, such inconsistencies do not invalidate his possession of the minimum requirement – a valid O/Level certificate or its equivalent.
“Legally speaking, meeting this criterion suffices, irrespective of minor factual deviations.”
Also reacting, an Abuja-based legal practitioner and strong supporter of Aiyedatiwa, Tolu Babaleye said: “I was scared at the initial stage of the report until I got to the paragraph where it was confirmed that His Excellency wrote WAEC (GCE) O/L at Ikosi Ketu, Lagos with Centre number 15592 and candidate number 019.
“With that finding by the police, the Governor’s matter of having the basic qualification to contest the Election is settled beyond reasonable doubt.
“It would have been a different ball game if the Police had confirmed that Aiyedatiwa forged his O/Level certificate or if WAEC had disowned the result tendered by Aiyedatiwa!
“That the Governor claimed to have attended certain schools when he did not actually attend goes to no issue. It remains a mistakes of facts.
“If the the Police had confirmed that the Governor forged his O/Level result, it would have been over for him; but as it is at the moment, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.
“The Police Investigation Report has cleared the Governor that his O/Level certificate is legit, every other thing is a counterfeit.
“The issue of whether he claimed to have attended Ikosi High School when the school had not been founded goes to no issue.
“Attendance of school is not part of the requirement, what the law requires is having an O/Level certificate or its equivalent which is the minimum requirement.”
However, an Akure-based lawyer, Morakinyo Ogele, said if the police report said Aiyedatiwa did not attend the school he claimed to have attended, a case of perjury had been established against him.
“The governor may not have any problem with his WAEC certificate. But if it is true that he sworn under an oath that he was a student of a school he did not attend, a case of perjury must have been established against him,” Ogele said.
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