Festus Keyamo Fires President Tinubu Over Certificate Forgery
Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN) has found himself firing his boss President Bola Tinubu when in 2019 tweeted that those who presented forged certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would be legally barred from holding elected office in accordance to the 1999 constitution.
Four years after, his present boss, President Tinubu has been accused by his former school that it didn’t issue the diploma certificate the president presented to INEC.
It therefore indicated that his four years has now backfired after his principal was implicated in the same act.
Keyamo, while quoting the 1999 constitution said: “if you present a FORGED WAEC or other certificate to INEC for any office, you will be disqualified, Mr. Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated in the tweet:
“By the definition of ‘School Certificate or its equivalent’ in section 318 of the 1999 Const.”
In a deposition, Chicago State University (CSU), based in the United States, confirmed the certificate (or diploma) Mr. Tinubu had submitted to INEC prior to the presidential election did not originate from the institution, proving the president had engaged in forgery.
This backfired exactly four years after the minister made the statement.Despite CSU’s confirmation that Mr. Tinubu, whose life’s details have been clouded by controversy, did, in fact, graduate from the American university, he did commit forgery by submitting a false diploma to INEC, which may result in his removal from office, a punishment that Mr. Keyamo, a lawyer, openly supported.
Mr Tinubu’s forged certificate issue is expected to be the focal point of contention as Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi head to the Supreme Court to appeal the presidential election tribunal’s ruling that affirmed Mr Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress’ victory in the February 25 election.Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission
