Osun APC primary: Group seeks aspirant’s disqualification over alleged certificate discrepancies
Concerned Citizens of Osun State, a civic group led by Segun Alokan and Omolara Sodiya, has petitioned the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), calling for the disqualification of an aspirant in the party’s House of Representatives primary for the Ifelodun, Boripe, and Odo Otin federal constituency over alleged discrepancies in his academic credentials.
The group also alleged that the outcome of the primary election was altered, resulting in the aspirant who originally emerged first being moved to second position while another contender was declared the winner.
Addressing a press conference, the petitioners said the rightful winner of the primary election was being neglected amid attempts to uphold the candidature of Hon. Eniade Francis Oluwadamilare.
According to the group, its petition is not intended to secure the ticket for any particular aspirant but to ensure that the APC upholds its internal processes and investigates the allegations surrounding the credentials submitted by Eniade.
Alokan said:
“Our position is clear. If Hon. Eniade Damilare is disqualified after a thorough investigation, it is not for us to determine who gets the ticket. The responsibility of deciding the next line of action rests entirely with the leadership of the APC in accordance with the party’s constitution and established guidelines.
“Our major concern is the discrepancies we discovered between the WAEC certificate presented by Hon. Damilare and the online WAEC result printout attributed to him.
“The names appearing on the WAEC certificate do not correspond with the names reflected in the online WAEC record. This inconsistency raises serious questions that deserve proper scrutiny.”
“While the WAEC certificate bears four names, the online result reflects a different name arrangement. We believe this discrepancy should be investigated thoroughly by the party before any final decision is taken.”
The group argued that WAEC records typically contain three names and questioned the appearance of four names on the certificate presented by the aspirant.
The petitioners further alleged that the photograph appearing on the certificate did not originate from WAEC and was not reflected in the online result verification portal.
Also speaking, Sodiya said:
“The certificate presented does not correspond with the information available on WAEC’s online verification platform, and that raises serious concerns about its authenticity.
“We also observed discrepancies in the way the candidate’s school was represented on the certificate.
“The certificate contains the abbreviation ‘INT’ as part of the school name. To the best of our knowledge, WAEC does not abbreviate school names on its certificates. This is one of the issues we believe the party and relevant authorities should investigate thoroughly.”
The petitioners further alleged discrepancies in the aspirant’s NECO records.
They claimed that the candidate’s name was abbreviated as “Francis M” on the NECO document, a detail they said was inconsistent with other records attributed to the aspirant.
The group argued that the differences across the educational records raised questions that required investigation by the party.
The petitioners also alleged that manipulation of figures characterised the APC primary election.
The group further claimed that some influential individuals were backing Damilare’s candidacy despite the allegations surrounding his credentials.
“There are powerful interests working to impose a candidate on the party despite the concerns raised by members and stakeholders,” the petitioners said.
The petitioners urged the APC national chairman and the party’s national working committee to investigate the allegations and take appropriate action.
They warned that failure to address the issues could undermine confidence in the party’s internal democratic processes.
The group also called on the APC leadership to ensure that the authentic outcome of the primary election is upheld in accordance with the party’s rules and guidelines.
