Okowa reacts to certificate saga

The Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Tuesday dismissed claims he had no West Africa School Certificate (WASC) certificate.

The governor, who addressed journalists after inspecting ongoing projects at the Delta State University of Science and Technology in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state, said he attended the Edo College, Benin City and graduated in 1976.

Controversy over the academic qualifications of some politicians taking part in the 2023 presidential election has topped public discourse in the last few weeks.

It started with the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who claimed in the forms he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that secondary school certificates were taken away by military agents in the 1990s.

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The Delta governor also informed INEC last week that his secondary school certificate was missing,

At the forum on Tuesday, Okowa added that he made the second-best result in Nigeria at the time.

He said the issue around the certificate was deliberately wrong perception and unnecessary politics.

He stressed that virtually all universities in the country offered him admission based on his outstanding performance in WASC and Higher School Certificate (HSC) Examination.

The governor said: “On the issue of my certificate, I think it is a misconception. People try to play politics with everything.

“Yes, I lost my WAEC certificate, but I have the print out from Edo College, Benin City, which clearly stated that I have distinction in all subjects.

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“The Higher School Certificate was attached and it has been acknowledged by Edo College and the school put it out there that I made an ‘A’ `B’ `B’.

“I do not pride myself but it was very difficult to make such a grade in high school at that time. My high school result was the second best nationally in 1976, when I finished. So, many universities admitted me through Telegram as at that time, and I had to start making choices of which to accept.

“Of course, it’s very clear that I finished medical school at the University of Ibadan. I was 21 years and some months; I was less than 22 years of age.”