The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday, March 18, dismissed the alleged University of Ibadan degree certificate forgery suit filed by the All Progressives Congress, (APC) against Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo.
The court dismissed the suit for lacking in merit and awarded N250, 000 cost in favour of Obaseki.
1st News had reported that Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja had on Jan. 9, dismissed the alleged certificate forgery suit against Obaseki.
The Judge had described the APC’s allegation as strange saying it was like an outsider telling a man in his house that he is not the father of a child.
Apparently not satisfied with the decision of the lower court, the APC approached the appellate court to challenge the judgment.
Delivering judgment in the appeal, Justice Stephen Adah held that the lower court was right in its findings and conclusions.
Justice Adah upheld the testimony of the Deputy Registrar, Legal, University of Ibadan, Mr Abayomi Ajayi who confirmed that Obaseki attended the university in 1976 and fulfilled the requirement for admission to study Classical Studies.
The judge maintained that the evidence of Ajayi was direct in showing that Obaseki did not forge the certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) to secure his clearance for participation in the governorship election.
The appellate court held that the APC failed to prove the certificate forgery allegation and that the appeal was unmeritorious.
The court subsequently dismissed the appeal with N250, 000 cost in favour of Obaseki and N50 ,000 each in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and INEC.
Meanwhile, the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, on Thursday, March 18, stated that Southern Nigeria should produce the next President ahead of the 2023 general elections in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari who contested under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) swept to power in 2015 after defeating ex-President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Buhari was also re-elected in 2019 after beating PDP’s Atiku Abubakar; and will complete his constitutionally mandated tenure in 2023.
However, Masari who spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today which aired on Thursday, March 18, said a non-northerner should succeed President Buhari in 2023.
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“If you ask me as a person Aminu, I think we should move the presidency to the southern part of the country,” he said when asked which zone should have the 2023 presidency.
Although he did not specify which particular geographical region of the south should produce the next Presidency, he, however, added, “South is South.”
