Leave My Certificates Alone --Buhari Tells PDP

Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has finally challenged Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, to stop making an issue out of his school certificate, but
to rather campaign on issues of unemployment, insecurity and
corruption bedevilling the country.

Buhari, in a briefing Wednesday, said he would have dismissed the
certificates issue as sheer mischief but for the concern expressed by
many of his supporters and other well-meaning Nigerians.

He said: "Although the ruling party may want to wish this away, the
issue in this campaign cannot be my certificate, which I obtained 53
years ago.

"The issues are the scandalous level of unemployment of millions of
our young people, the state of insecurity, the pervasive official
corruption which has impoverished our people and the lack of concern
of the government for anything other than the retention of power at
all costs."

According to the former Head of State, he sat for the University of
Cambridge/WASC Examination in 1961, with examination number 8280002,
and passed in the Second Division.

Buhari said: "I had assumed all along that all my records were in the
custody of the Military Secretary of the Nigerian Army. Much to my
surprise, we are now told that although a record of the result is
available, there are no copies of the certificates in my personal
file.

"This is why I formally requested my old school, the Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina, (now Government College, Katsina) to make
available the school's copy of the result of the Cambridge/West
African School Certificate. This will be made available to the press
the moment it is available.

"However, before we obtain that, let me say for the record that I
attended Provincial Secondary School, Katsina. I graduated in 1961
with many prominent Nigerians, including General Shehu Yar'Adua,
former Chief of Staff at the Supreme Headquarters, and Justice Umaru
Abdullahi, a former President of the Court of Appeal.

"We sat for the University of Cambridge/WASC Examination together in
1961, the year we graduated. My examination number was 8280002, and I
passed the examination in the Second Division.

"And although the ruling party may want to wish this away, the issue
in this campaign cannot be my certificate, which I obtained 53 years
ago. The issues are the scandalous level of unemployment of millions
of our young people, the state of insecurity, the pervasive official
corruption, which has impoverished our people and the lack of concern
of the government for anything other than the retention of power at
all costs."
--Vanguard