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.