Dele Olaosebikan
CONTRARY to the opinion held in some quarters, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Thursday said that it does not issue original certificates twice having issued one to a candidate.
The examination body stated this while giving evidence as a subpoenaed witness to produce a copy of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s 1978 WAEC certificate at the Ogun State Electron Petition Tribunal, sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, the state capital.
The governorship prospect of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ladi Adebutu, who is challenging the declaration of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the winner of the 18 March 2023 governorship election, had alleged that Abiodun forged his WAEC certificate.
But, appearing before the three-man tribunal, an official of the examination body, Olufemi Olaleye, said he was not with the disputed certificate.
The WAEC official told the tribunal that, “The requested certificate is not here with me because WAEC does not keep duplicates of collected WAEC certificates.”
Olaleye further stated that to confirm whether or not somebody took the Council’s examination, “the original certificate given to the candidate will be forwarded to WAEC” for verification.
He was discharged immediately he was recorded as having testified before the tribunal as PW73.
Eighteen-Eleven Media