UNENDING CRISES IN ONDO PDP AS ANOTHER GROUP PETITIONS INEC, DSS, ON AGBOOLA AJAYI’S CREDENTIALS
There seems no respite in the crises rocking the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party as different Groups continue to raise petitions on the alleged falsification of documents by Alfred Agboola Ajayi, the party’s candidate for the November gubernatorial election.
Members of one the groups, represented by 11o1 Attorneys and solicitors, in a Petition dated 3rd June 2024 to the Chairman INEC, copies of which were endorsed to the Director General SSS, Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner and the State Director SSS, the receipt of which were acknowledged on the 7th of June, insisted that Agboola Ajayi of the PDP is not fit to be presented or voted for as a governor.
The Group in the 52 paragraph petition, among other allegations, accused Agboola Ajayi, of presentation to INEC of mutually contradictory and falsified documents including obvious lies in affidavits, altering entries on his May/June 2004 West African Senior School Certificate Examination No. NGWASSCS5529745 with Candidate No. 4291420058 at the Community High School, Mobolorunduro in Okitipupa Local Government of Ondo State.
According to the Group Ajayi claimed to have sat for the examination as a student with passport photograph in school uniform at a time he was also serving as a full-time elected Chairman of Ese-Odo Local Government.
In two separate affidavits sworn to at different times in 2006 Agboola Ajayi claimed there were errors in his certificate which he in the first affidavit blamed on WAEC and later in another Affidavit said the Registrar of the school who he claimed filled his form was responsible.
That WAEC relying on the Entry Form of the student who sat for the examination insisted that the information therein tallied with the contents of the certificate while the registrar in a counter-affidavit said his signature was forged in the affidavit credited to him by Agboola Ajayi, that the house used as his address in the affidavit of 2006 was only built in 2010, denied responsibility for filling any form for Agboola Ajayi who was not known as a student of the only secondary school in the village.
Ajayi was also accused of making false statement on oath when he swore that he was simultaneously a full-time Law student at the Igbinedion University while also a full-time member of the House of Representatives between 2007-2009.
That he also lied in the document presented to INEC when he claimed to have consulted his constituents of Ilaje-Ese-Odo Federal constituency who allegedly consented to his complete absence from legislative duties as a member of the House of Representatives to allow him attend full-time and “mandatory Law School programme in 2009-2010” in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives dated 6th July 2009.
The Group also queried the integrity of both the LLB Degree and Certificate of Call to the Nigerian Bar which foundations were based on the o-level certificate which presenter Agboola Ajayi swore was error-filled.
The legal team cited several sections of the Constitution including Section 29 (4) of the Electoral Act which mandates INEC to make available on request to any citizen “ certified true copy of nomination form, affidavit and other document submitted by a candidate”.
The Group insisted that the law does not allow a political party to present an unqualified candidate and if it does, is liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000,000 in accordance with Section 29 (8) of the Act.
That the implications of this is that “INEC is empowered to screen candidates of political parties to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and Electoral Act and in breach thereof to apply appropriate sanctions which is the disqualification of such candidate.
Members of the Group claimed the right of the citizens to petition the INEC is unlike that of an aspirant who participated in the primary election who may only exercise his right by challenging the candidate in court “in accordance with Section 29 (5) of the Act.
The Group urged “the Commission and security agencies to conduct in-depth screening of all political party candidates particularly Agboola Ajayi of the PDP on the information supplied.
It prayed that “where any of the documents including nomination form, affidavit and other document submitted by Agboola Ajayi is found incorrect or forged by deliberate attestation in the appropriate INEC form that it is correct knowing same to be false with intent that it may be used as a genuine document, the INEC and security agencies, as mandatory duty to the Constitution and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should have him disqualified”.
