By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA — Former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, seeking an investigation into the 2018 National Examination Council, NECO, certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle.
The petition questions the validity of the certificate, Matawalle’s educational qualifications and records he submitted to electoral authorities over the years, and calls for a police investigation into the matter.
The demand was contained in a statement signed by Shinkafi, the Executive Director of the Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development.
According to the statement, Matawalle submitted a June 2018 NECO SSCE Internal result to INEC among the documents accompanying his governorship nomination.
“It is on record that Bello Matawalle submitted to INEC the said NECO SSCE June 2018 as part of his personal particulars in his nomination forms for the office of Governor of Zamfara State ahead of the 2023 general election,” Shinkafi said.
The petition argued that the examination was a school-based internal examination reserved for final-year secondary school students and questioned how Matawalle, who had previously served in the House of Representatives, came to sit for it.
“It is curious how Bello Matawalle, a former member of the House of Representatives at the time sat for the SSCE June 2018 examination meant for regular students in their uniforms, while preparing to contest for Governor of Zamfara State in 2019, which he won on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,” the petition added.
Beyond the NECO certificate, Shinkafi also questioned the educational qualification Matawalle relied on in previous elections, referring to a May/June 1985 statement of result issued by the Vocational Training Centre, Bunza, in Sokoto State.
The petition also referenced a December 28, 2018 letter from the Federal Ministry of Education stating that the certificate could not be evaluated as equivalent to a Senior School Certificate.
Shinkafi maintained that the issues raised had implications for constitutional eligibility requirements for elective office. He noted that candidates seeking election into the House of Representatives and the governorship offices must possess at least a school certificate or its equivalent.
“The Inspector General of Police is urged to direct a thorough investigation of this clear breach of the nation’s Constitution by a political office holder,” the petition said.
The group said it had submitted copies of Matawalle’s vocational training result, the Federal Ministry of Education letter, the June 2018 NECO result and relevant INEC forms to support its claims.
The petition also called for verification of Matawalle’s claimed attendance at Yaba College of Technology, stating that neither the course of study nor the period of attendance was indicated in the referenced forms.
“It is in the national interest to hold elected and appointed public office holders accountable to justify the confidence citizens reposed in them. Anyone who is found culpable of a criminal offence should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.
