By Balkis Tijani.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has acknowledged that Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, sat for its secondary school leaving examination in 1976 at the Government College Kaduna.
The examination body also confirmed that Governor Abdulrazaq sat for the exams using Razaq A.R. as written in the credentials he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the electioneering period.
The council made the confirmation today, through a certified true copy of Governor Abdulrazaq’s result, as well as those of other candidates of the same set which it sent to the Kwara State Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin.
The WAEC document which was signed by Oshindehinde HSA, WAEC deputy registrar, School Examinations Department on behalf of Head of National Office of the body, Olu I. Adenipekun, was presented by a senior examination officer of the council, Olorunsola Victor, who stated that at least 31 other candidates had abbreviated their names, clarifying the PDP’s claim that WAEC did not allow abbreviations at the time of the examination.
The counsel to the PDP, Paul Erokoro (SAN), who had strongly insisted on the testimony of the WAEC representative, suddenly rejected the witness just a few minutes after his insistence, saying he no longer agreed that the witness was truly a representative of the examination body.
Erokoro said, “We don’t accept this witness as coming from WAEC because there’s no minute on the subpeona that he’s from WAEC. We can’t take his ID as evidence that he’s from WAEC. WAEC should send a witness with instructions to testify on its behalf. We shall therefore be applying for a bench warrant for the head of WAEC to appear before this tribunal.”
However, the counsel to INEC, Rowland Otaru (SAN); Governor Abdulrazaq, Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN) and APC, Akin Olujimi (SAN) all objected to the application.
They argued that the witness had been sworn on oath and had given his evidence and so must be cross-examined accordingly.
The tribunal, in its ruling, rejected the PDP’s application on the grounds that there was no sufficient evidence to say that the witness did not come from WAEC.
The case was adjourned to July 23.