Toba Owojaiye reporting
The presidential candidate certificate controversy has dramatically shifted the focus of the 2023 presidential election petitions. Instead of battling over the rightful victor, candidates are now relentlessly attempting to disqualify each other. This has resulted in two high-profile world press conferences within one week and a global scavenger hunt for certificates, placing all three top presidential contenders under intense scrutiny.
A series of troubling questions have arisen regarding the alleged inconsistencies in Peter Obi’s certificates:
⁃ How can we explain the absence of the name “Peter” on his GCE transcript, especially when it is his most prominent name today?
⁃ Why does his GCE transcript list his first name as “Obi,” and when did the switch to “Obi” as his surname occur?
⁃ What surnames did Peter Obi’s siblings bear during their childhood? Was it “Onwubuasi,” as indicated on his GCE transcript, or “Obi,” as mentioned on his UNN diploma and certificate?
⁃ On his UNN diploma and certificate, why is “Gregory” his first name, with “Peter” relegated to the first middle name, “Onwubuasi” to the second middle name, and “Obi” promoted to the surname? Such discrepancies in names often raise concerns about their legitimacy.
⁃ The absence of his West African Schools Certificate Examination (WASCE) transcript, which should be obtainable for a “resident” secondary school student, has raised questions about the name listed on it.
The GCE exams could be taken independently of one’s school, but the primary concern here isn’t the quality of his GCE results. Irrespective of the quality of his WASCE transcript, its absence raises concerns about the name associated with it.
Additional issues cast further doubt on Peter Obi’s academic history:
⁃ Could he have entered the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), with just four credits (including P8 in English and Maths) in 1979 or 1980 and graduated in 1984, as indicated by the diploma and certificate? These academic requirements appear inconsistent with the standards of the time.
⁃ Is the 1986 date on his GCE transcript a typographical error, or did he retake the exam after graduating from UNN and completing NYSC in 1985, and if so, why?
⁃ The whereabouts of the Birth Certificate or Declaration of Age he used for registering for and taking the WASCE, as well as for his admission to UNN, remains a mystery.
⁃ Notably, Peter Obi’s certificate lacks the university’s stamp or seal, a key feature specified in the third paragraph of a legitimate certificate.
Emerging evidence indicates that he was in his final year of secondary school in 1977, contradicting his GCE certificate’s assertion that he completed it in 1986. Moreover, he provided an additional degree certificate dated 1984, further muddying the waters regarding the accuracy of his academic history.