LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD IN EDO STATE: 3
When I read an advertorial titled “Professor Tony Afejuku: Political
columnist to General Airhiavbere” which appeared on page 48 of VANGUARD
newspaper of Friday, 21 December 2012, signed by one Inwalomhe Donald
of Justice Reseach Centre, I did not want to join issues with the writer
because I know that Professor Afejuku is able and capable to respond.
However, when Inwalomhe Donald came up with a second advertorial: “Gen.
Airhiavbere, Afejuku Edo Petition Tribunal isn’t about media propaganda”
published on page 46 of VANGUARD of Tuesday January 1,2013, it became
obvious that he was out to misinform the public and as such, needed to
be checked.
In attempting to educate the public on proceedings at
the Edo Governorship Petition Tribunal hearing the petition of
non-possession of relevant educational qualification, forgery and
perjury leveled against Adams Oshiomhole by the PDP Candidate, General
Charles Airhiavbere(rtd), Inwalomhe Donald displayed complete ignorance
and lack of understanding of the petition and proceedings at the
tribunal despite the fact that he writes from a Justice Research Centre.
In paragraph 7 of his petition, Charles Airhiavbere claims that he has
a right to have been returned as the winner of the election for the
office of the Governor of Edo State. In paragraphs 12(iv) and 24, he
claims that Adams Oshiomhole was not qualified to contest for the
election for the office of the Governor of Edo State. In Paragraph 25,
he averred to the fact that there was no nexus between Adams Aliu(Aliyu)
Oshiomhole and the academic qualifications he attached to form CF001
signed on oath by Adams Oshiomhole and submitted to INEC. Finally, in
paragraph 30, Charles Airhiavbere prayed THAT IT BE DETERMINED that he
is entitled to be returned by INEC as having been duly elected as the
Governor of Edo State by reason of having scored the highest number of
LAWFUL votes cast at the Governorship election held on the 14th day of
July 2012. In addition, the General retired in the same section prayed
the tribunal to determine that the election of Adams Oshiomhole was
invalid by reason that he was not qualified to run for the office of
Governor of Edo State having not met the mandatory statutory requisite
qualifications to contest in the election and other non-compliance with
the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010(as amended).
With all
these facts above, what else does Inwalomhe want Charles Airhiavbere to
educate Afejuku about? It is Inwalomhe that needs to be educated on what
Charles Airhiavbere canvassed at the Tribunal and not Afejuku.
Inwalomhe himself also needs to study the legal issues canvassed and
pleaded by General Airhiavbere that are before the tribunal as he also
completely misunderstands the distinction between legal research and the
common heritage of narrative convention.
Inwalomhe in Paragraphs 2
and 9 displayed his lack of knowledge of the Electoral Act currently
governing the conduct of elections in the country. He should realize
that the Electoral Act 2010(as amended) and not Electoral Act 2006 was
what INEC used to conduct the July 14th, 2012, Governorship Election.
What a shame. He wanted to know what stopped Charles Airhiavbere from
going to court to prevent Adams Oshiomhole from contesting the election.
Good question. Gen Airhiavbere being a brilliant and distinguished
military officer(though retired) knew from the onset that the issue of
non-qualification is both pre and post-election issue (which Adams
Oshiomhole and Inwalomhe seem not to be aware of) and as such opted for
the post-election option, which is the Election Tribunal. He was fully
conscious of the Supreme Court Judgment of Monday November, 28, 2011 in
the case between PDP and Gabriel Yorwa Suswan vs Senator Daniel I. Saror
and others SC381/2011 and SC383/2011. In that judgment the seven man
panel headed by Dahiru Musdapher(then CJN) unanimously agreed that the
issue of non-educational qualification is both pre and post-election
matter. With full knowledge of the above judgment, Charles Airhiavbere
decided not to go to the High Court before the election because Adams
Oshiomhole and his lawyers would definitely have used unnecessary
adjournments to prolong the case which at the high court would not have
had any time limit. Inwalomhe and his cohorts might also want to know
that it was this judgment and some other previous judgments of the
Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal that the three-man Benin Court of
Appeal panel relied on in remitting Charles Airhiavbere’s petition back
to the Edo Electoral Tribunal. Instead of heeding the Benin Court of
Appeal’s advice for Oshiomhole to go to the tribunal to ventilate and
trashout/settle issues relation to his qualification, he headed for the
Supreme Court asking it to overrule the judgment of the Court of Appeal
sitting in Benin. With over 13 Senior Advocates and more than 25 other
lawyers in his defence team, Oshiomhole has frittered away over two
billion naira of Edo commonwealth funds on his desperate fight to remain
in office in a State where hundreds of thousands of youths are jobless
and poverty is at its highest ebb.
It will also be necessary at
this stage to further educate Inwalomhe the more about what Charles
Airhiavbere ask the tribunal to decide on in paragraphs 12, 24, 25 and
30 of his petition since he has decided to be an ignoramus. Airhiavbere
specifically alleged that Adams Oshiomhole does not have Secondary
School Certificate or it’s equilvalent as prescribed in Section 177(d)
of the 1999 constitution as amended. He also claimed that Oshiomhole
cannot benefit from the interpretation in Section 318(1) of the
constitution because he failed to attach his primary six certificate (if
he has any) to the form CF001, a certificate he also failed to produce
to the tribunal during its proceedings even though, I heard from the
grapevine that he was served with a notice to produce it. I understand
he also made spirited efforts to obtain a back-dated primary six
certificate from the State Ministry of Education, Benin City but he was
rebuffed by the ministry officials. Airhiavbere further alleged that
Iyamoh primary school which Oshiomhole said he attended from 1957-1962
was not in existence as at 1957 and that by January 1957 the ACN
Candidate was four years and eight months by virtue of the April 4th
1952 birth date he filled in his form CF001 on oath and thus not
eligible for admission into any primary school in the old Western Region
as six years was the prescribed age for admission according to law.
Counsel to the General tendered at the tribunal through the Federal
Archives, Ibadan a certified true copy of Western Region of Nigeria
Gazette, No. 17 of 5th April 1956 to authenticate his claim and it was
of course admitted as exhibit. In addition Charles Airhiavbere alleged
that there is no nexus between the name the Governor currently bears
“Adams Aliu Oshiomhole” and the names “Adams Aliu or Aliyu Adams” in the
modern school certificate and testimonial he attached to his form
CF001. According to Airhiavbere the only way a nexus could have been
established is by a sworn affidavit as to change of name in accordance
with the Bendel Statutory Declaration Oath Law of 1976, also applicable
in Edo State. This fact was confirmed by Professor Phillip Agbebaku, the
husband of the acting Vice Chancellor of the Ambrose Alli University
Ekpoma, the only witness produced by Oshiomhole and the ACN on the
certificate issue, during his testimony. Finally, Airhiavbere also
averred that Oshiomhole in his form CF001 stated he has never changed
his name so the said modern school certificate and testimonials could
not have been his.
It might also be of interest to Inwalomhe to
know that the PDP in compliance with the relevant provisions of the
Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), did inform INEC before the election
and also took an advertorial on the 12th of July 2012, in the NIGERIAN
TRIBUNE informing INEC and the public that Adams Oshiomhole was not
qualified to contest the July 14th election as a result of
non-possession of the relevant academic qualification. The public was
also warned that votes cast for Adams Oshiomhole were void votes by
virtue of his non-qualification. And of course, a certified true copy of
that advertorial produce to the tribunal through the National Archive
Benin was admitted as exhibit after a three hour argument by counsels to
the parties involved.
Contrary to what Inwalomhe wrote, Charles
Airhiavbere did not fail to differentiate between document and
certificate. Rather, he insisted that what he was asked to read were
mere documents not certificates. It is out of naivety that Inwalomhe
will even consider in his mind that a man who rose to the rank of Major
General in the Nigerian Army, has a Masters Degree, is a Chartered
Accountant and a former Directing Staff at the National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, cannot differentiate between a
certificate and a document. The General’s credentials are intimidating
and they soar head and shoulder above whatever credentials Oshiomhole
has to parade. It will interest Inwalomhe, that his sponsor did not fill
the said credentials as academic qualifications in his INEC CF001. The
General believes they are mere supporting documents to a form.
Inwalomhe from the second advertorial made it obvious that he was not
present at the tribunal the day Professor Phillip Agbebaku testified. If
he was present, he probably fell asleep while Agbebaku was in the
witness box. This is because Agbebaku under cross examination by
Oshiomhole’s lawyer, Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN, told the tribunal that
there is a department in both the Federal and State Ministries of
Education whose prerogative it is to evaluate and authenticate
certificates. He never said the National Policy on Education empowers
him as a Professor to evaluate certificates. In addition, under cross
examination by Chief Efe Akpofure, SAN, Airhiavbere’s Counsel, he
admitted that his assessment of Oshiomhole’s certificate where his
personal opinion as he was not a representative of the relevant
department in the Ministry of Education saddled with such
responsibility of evaluation, neither was he there as a representative
of Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma for the purpose of certificate
evaluation. So, what was Iwalomhe talking about? What is relevant in
this petition is what Agbebaku admitted to on oath from the witness box
and not what any policy states. Inwalomhe probably does not know that
Agbebaku was an object of scorn and riddle by his fellow lecturers at
Ambrose Alli Unversity Ekpoma (Professors and Non-Professors alike),
after his appearance at the tribunal for his shameful and woeful
performance Inwalomhe also in his first advertorial described Professor
Afejuku as someone who does not know the politics of Edo State because
he is not an indigene of the state. For him to claim that a man who has
been and is still a lecturer in the University of Benin since 1980, who
pays his tax to the state government and is a registerd voter in Benin
City does not know the politics of the state and as such is not
qualified to question the academic qualification of his (Inwalomhe)
sponsor is unfortunate.
Finally, General Airhiavbere does not need
to employ the services of Professor Afejuku or any other person for that
matter to launder his image. He has many capable party members in his
campaign organization who have done creditably better than the over
twelve image makers Oshiomhole spends the over taxed payers money on.
For all I know, the Justice Research Centre is a fictitious and non
existing organization while the two advertorials where planted,
harvested, cooked and dished out to the public from Edo State Government
House and worn the garb of Justice Research Center as has always been
their style for the past four years. As I have always said, the truth
will surely come out soon irrespective of the misinformation that the
purported Justice Research Centre and the lackluster Adams Oshiomhole
propaganda machine might want to feed to the public.
Hon. Osaze Jesuorobo(08023345018).
Honorable Osaze Jesuorobo is a Journalist and Public Affairs Analyst based in Benin City.
No comments:
Post a Comment