All is not well with the Kaduna state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as an alleged school certificate challenge is trailing the governorship candidate of the party, Isa Mohammed Ashiru, threatens the party’s chances at next year’s election.
According to educational certificates presented to the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), the governorship candidate had noticeable and worrying discrepancies in his school certificates.
The documents, sighted by journalists in Abuja, bore names that are not regularly associated with the candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan.
Checks indicate that the document, a General Certificate of Education (GCE), issued by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and dated June 1980 with only three subjects as courses offered, bore Ashiru Mohammed and had a pass in English Literature, good in Islamic Religious knowledge and credit in Economics.
Sources in Kaduna said that majority of PDP members and the general public are wondering if the Ashiru Mohammed, written on the certificate, is the same as Isa Mohammed Ashiru as contained in his various INEC Nomination Forms from 2003- 2019.
According to the source, the major concern of party bigwigs in the state was that the candidate Isa Ashiru Kudan did not depose to any affidavit before a Commissioner for Oaths in any court in Nigeria to affirm that both Ashiru Mohammed and Isa Mohammed Ashiru refer to one and the same person.
However, the candidate also showed evidence of further educational attainments including Pre-National Diploma from Katsina Polytechnic (now Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic) in 1983, a National Diploma in Business Administration from the same polytechnic in 1985, a Higher National Diploma from Kaduna Polytechnic in 1989 and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Bayero University, Kano in 2002. All these documents, according to our source, bear different names that could not have referred to one and the same person, in the absence of an affidavit reconciling the names.
For instance, his Higher National Diploma certificate bears Mohammed Ashiru Isa, while the post-graduate Diploma Certificate from the same institution bears Isa Mohammed Ashiru and his Masters Degree certificate from the Bayero University bears Ashiru Mohammed Isa. His National Youth Service Certificate bears Mohammed Ashiru Isa, while the Certificate of Participation in a course on ‘Current Affairs and World Politics for Public Officers’ which he attended at West London College in June 2008 has Isa M. Ashiru on it.
Also, the candidate’s certification from an Oxford Programme on Negotiation, has Isa Ashiru while a Katsina Polytechnic Student Union certificate issued to him as a member of parliament has Isa Mohammed Ashiru on it.
According to our source who did not want his name in print, and documents, party leaders are worried that “the All Progressives Congress (APC), and NNPP would definitely challenge his victory per chance he wins. The alleged forgery of his certificate may become an issue for litigation.
We remember vividly the Bayelsa state case. In that case the APC candidate, who decisively won the election, was stopped from being sworn-in over discrepancies in the names of the deputy governor-elect.
Meanwhile, Isa Ashiru Kudan, in what is an assuring move to the allegation of certificate forgery, has dragged Professor Mohammed Bello, an APC chieftain, before a Kaduna State High Court alleging defamation of character.
The case is before Justice Edward Andow and has been adjourned to November 15, 2023, for adoption of pre-trial conference (PTC).
