Former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari has been accused of forging a Postgraduate Diploma certificate. A Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo in a petition to the All Progressive Congress, APC, asked the party to withdraw the Gubernatorial ticket from the former Speaker, over an alleged certificate forgery.
In the petition dated, December 17 by Festus Keyamo on behalf of his clients, namely Ibrahim Yadullah, Kabir Mamman, Aminu Hashirmu, Falalu Sale and Ya’u Sule, who are all APC members in Katsina state has vowed to go to court should the party refuse to disqualify Masari and investigate the issue.
According to the petitioner, he said that Masari’s claim of obtaining a postgraduate diploma in water quality control and management from Middlesex Polytechnic in the United Kingdom is a sham, while citing section 182 (1) (J) of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, (as amended) which stated follows: ‘182 (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if (j) he has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
Keyamo said; “On behalf our clients, we write this petition concerning your supposed gubernatorial candidate for Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari. We wish to kindly draw your attention to certain facts, which are likely to disqualify him from contesting for the said position or if he does contest at all and is victorious, may be a ground to remove him as governor if the pre-election matter concerning the issue is not determined timeously.”
Writing further Keyamo said; “Kindly note, that in the year 2011, the subject of this petition, Aminu Bello Masari, contested for the office of governor of Katsina state under the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). In filling Form CF-001 (Personal Particulars of Candidate), he alleged that he has a post-graduate diploma. As evidence of this, he attached a certificate in ‘postgraduate diploma in water quality control and management’ from Middlesex Polytechnic, United Kingdom.”
“A simple inquiry that was made in the said polytechnic elicited a response that no such course was offered by the school in the said year. Kindly find attached the said response by email. We encourage you to do your own inquiry from the said Institution and draw your own conclusion.”
“We need not emphasize the need for your Party that prides itself on the mantra of “Change” to depart from the tradition of other parties that have fielded questionable characters in the past,” Keyamo said as he urged APC to either replace the former Speaker or carry out another new primary in the state.
Keyamo added further in his petition that; “The danger of sticking with Aminu Bello Masari as your candidate for Katsina state despite the above facts is all too obvious because we are prepared to proceed to court if you fail to act decisively. We need not say more.”
It will be recalled the Masari recently in the just concluded APC gubernatorial Primaries in Kastina State won the APC Governorship Primaries.
