Buhari’s Certificate: We have gone far beyond your distractions, Lai Mohammed lampoons PDP, others

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Lai Mohammed laughs PDP's Secondus over his distractions and "lies".

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*Army Headquarters authenticated Buhari’s claims in January 2015 letter

By KEMI KASUMU and Busola Samuel

 

The minister said: “I think we have gone far beyond that and I want to quote former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said in 2014/2015 when the certificate saga started, he that, “It is an insult for a man who rose to the highest echelon in the Nigerian Army; a man who went to the War College in the US; a man who rose through Staff College, for anybody to start asking whether he has school certificate or not” and I think I want to leave it there.”

 

Just as the heat suffered by critics from General Alani Akinrinade’s condemnation of their “unnecessary” debate of President Muhammadu Buhari’s school certificate matter continues to rage against the opposition camp, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Sunday night, drop with another bang.

He said Nigeria and patriotic citizens had gone far beyond such debate he described as attempt by opposition to cause distractions, which he insisted would not be allowed to happen.

Speaking on a Channels TV Sunday Politics monitored from our Lagos side, the minister insisted that the president had leveraged on his “legendary integrity and acumen” to rejig governance and impact positively on the lives of every Nigerian.

He expressed confidence that the president would win re-election in 2019.

The controversy over Buhari’s certificate had resurfaced following the publication of particulars of presidential candidates by the electoral body where Buhari said his certificates were with the military.

The minister said: “I think we have gone far beyond that and I want to quote former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said in 2014/2015 when the certificate saga started, he that, “It is an insult for a man who rose to the highest echelon in the Nigerian Army; a man who went to the War College in the US; a man who rose through Staff College, for anybody to start asking whether he has school certificate or not” and I think I want to leave it there.”

He said the controversy over the certificate was a completely a non-issue, adding, “Mr. President served the Nigerian Army and he has said it over and over again, ‘just go to the Nigerian Army and then ask them to produce my certificate. Honestly this is not a matter I want to waste anybody’s precious time over. It is an insult to a man who has risen to the peak of his carrier in the Army…I think we should move on to some serious issues.”

The minister said the president had been able to fulfill his electoral promises to Nigerians.

On the issue of the rising debt, he said the present government only borrowed $10bn in the last three and half years, saying the previous government borrowed $28bn in five years without tangible results.

He said: “I am absolutely very confident that Mr. President is going to win re-election, not because of anything but because of his track records.

“Nigerians are going to vote in the 2019 election. They are going to make a choice between going back to the era of inefficiency and corruption, an era of decayed infrastructure; the era when bombing and insurgency started to an era where the economy has been revamped, where insecurity has been tackled, where today we can talk about a new development and Nigerians are not stupid”.

Army testifies to Buhari’s claims

A pro-Buhari social media activist, AB Toro, recapped the letters from the Army Headquarters and principal of the secondary school attended by the President and told those making issue out of the President’s claim of his documents being the military to put their bile on liver.

“The law says evidence of secondary school education or it’s equivalent. A testimonial, a “to whom it may concern” note from the school’s principal is also sufficient. You don’t even need any certificate. People may not like this, but that is the law!” Toro said.

Copies of the letters by the Army and principal of President Buhari’s secondary school as sourced from Premium Times presented below:


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