Dissecting Bindow’s Certificates As Presented By INEC: One Man Different Names, No Affidavit, No Change Of Name, Obtains Declaration Of Age 10/15/2018
BY MOHAMMED ISMAIL
The certificates presented by governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibirilla Bindow as presented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in preparation to the 2019 polls were riddled with discrepancies, misrepresentations and ambiguities, Newshawk can report.
INEC has on Friday displayed the names of all candidates vying for political offices across the nation in deference to the extant electoral regulations and in fulfilment of all righteousness.
Due to the curiosity generated by the recent allegations of certificate forgery against Bindow, Newshawk took time to dissect the governor’s certificates in order to separate the chaff from the wheat.
In the process, this paper uncovered a litany of discrepancies, misrepresentations and ambiguities from the governor’s presentation.
The INEC has presented four documents in favour of the governor, which include primary education certificate, a testimonial, attesting the governor’s completion of secondary education, a diploma in business and a statutory declaration of age.
However, one noticeable blight in the presentation was the palpable general inconsistencies in all the names presented as no two documents bore same name.
For instance, while the governor bore the name Muhammed Umaru in his primary certificate, the name on his testimonial was a far cry as it read Mohammed Jibrilla Bindo, in sharp contrast with the name on his diploma Mohammed Jibrilla and the name on his statutory declaration of age which is Mohammed Umaru Jibirilla.
From the above presentation it was glaring that no two documents presented by the governor bore same name alluding to the possibility of sharp practice or illegitimate claim of certificate(s) which could undermine the integrity of the certificates in the realm of public and even legal scrutiny.
Another observable lapse in the governor’s presentation was the fact that the governor obtained his statutory declaration of age precisely on October 15, 2018 less than a month ago sparking another round of suspicion as many wondered whether the governor has never presented a statutory declaration of age in his previous attempts at securing political offices.
“The fact that the governor has failed to attach a change of name as a last measure to give his presentation some semblance of integrity makes the whole process particularly interesting and absurd,” a current affairs commentator, Sani Shehu said.
Another palpable misrepresentation was the fact that the governor in his primary certificate laid claim to being a Fulani man while in reality he was a Nzanyi by ethnic affiliation because his father of blessed memory, Alhaji Umaru Jibrilla was a full blooded Nzanyi man.
Another discrepancy as noticed by Newshawk was the fact that the testimonial the governor presented was signed on November 22, 2006 despite completing his secondary education in July 1983.
An educationist who spoke to our correspondent in confidence noted that he could not reconcile the fact that a person who finished secondary school education in 1983 only found it expedient to collect a testimonial in 2006 adding that the whole arrangement smacked of a charade, contrived to attain a selfish and whimsical agenda.
“As an educationist, I can tell you without hedging or the fear of being contradicted that no school worthy of its name can give an ex-student testimonial 23 years after passing out from the school.
“Because of the fact that certificates as at 1983 are obtained 3 years after graduation, schools were in the habit of giving out statement of result and a testimonial with which the graduands could pursue further studies or secure employment as the case may be.
“But after considerable number of years, the substance of issuing a statement of result or a testimonial is nixed by the fact that within the period, the person must have obtained a certified copy of his result from WAEC.
“I’m not comfortable with the governor’s presentation of testimonial for an exam he wrote 35 years ago,” he said.
Some aides of governor Bindow have in the wake of allegations of certificate forgery against their principal, flooded the cyberspace with a copy of certificate which they said belonged to the governor, thereby taunting those accusing the governor of certificate forgery as crassly ignorant.
But as the certificate imbroglio lasted, the anti-governor’s elements called the bluff of the governor’s supporters by presenting a certificate belonging to one Dalyop Pam Dong Rim bearing the same particulars as the one Bindow was showcasing alleging that Bindow was the actual forger.
As the political spat between the two rival groups deepened, a pressure group in Abuja filed a suit at a Federal High Court praying the court to investigate alleged certificate forgery by Bindow while another group of APC youths under the aegis of the black cap revolution movement approached Adamawa state house of assembly demanding the legislative body to probe the allegation.
While the former succeeded in prodding the court to commence a legal process against the governor, the latter could not compel the state house of assembly to commence investigation into the alleged certificate forgery as the state house of assembly said it was handicapped by the fact that the case was in the court and could never contemplate a contempt of court.
The political spat later assumed another dimension when the cyberspace again became awash with speculations that Bindow has heavily bribed a high ranking INEC official to remove the contentious certificate from Bindow’s file and to substitute it with the said testimonial which was collected and endorsed by INEC on October 25, 2018.
Can governor Bindow disentangle from the deadly grip of his traducers and coast home to victory as he did in 2015, or will he be consumed by the heavy allegation of his traducers? Only time could tell.