The Independent National
Electoral Commission has said only the courts can disqualify Governor Godwin
Obaseki based on the certificate he presented for re-election, noting that
certificates presented are regarded as authentic until proved otherwise by the
court.
The electoral body also said it
could not investigate the originality and authenticity or otherwise of the
disputed certificate/document which Obaseki presented to the commission for the
governorship election because it was beyond its responsibility.
The Peoples Democratic Party had
admitted that there were noticeable errors in Obaseki’s certificate but
explained that it was while filling the forms for the election in 2016 that
Obaseki inadvertently and mistakenly wrote 1976 in a portion of the form for
the year of the graduation which year was the year of his admission into the
University of Ibadan.
PDP had said, “At the time
Obaseki was completing his Form CF001 in 2016, he deposed to an affidavit
stating that he had misplaced the originals of all of his certificates while
changing offices with the intention to apply for a re-issuance if his
certificates”.
However, the PDP also blamed the error in Obaseki’s certificate on the mechanism of the photocopier saying, “the original certificate was issued in A5 size; however, in order for the photocopy of the certificate to be attached to the Form CF001, the size was reduced to A4 and in the process, leaving out some information on the certificate”.
INEC, being the 1st respondent in
the petition filed by Action Democratic Party to the Edo State Governorship
Election Petition Tribunal holding in Benin City, in a certified true copy
containing its reply and obtained by our reporter said, “It is also not the
duty of the first respondent (INEC) to investigate the origin of the said
documents duly submitted to it.”
A reply signed by INEC’s lead
counsel, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, read, “The information given by the 3rd
respondent (Mr. Godwin Obaseki) in the affidavit and documents submitted by him
as a candidate at the election in INEC’s nomination form (Form C.F. 001) are
presumed manifestly true or prima facie correct until and only if the contrary
is proved and/or pronounced false by an order of the court”.
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