By Abdullahi Liman Having a certificate is not legally necessary to qualify for election. That’s to say it’s not the requirement to prove that you’ve sat and passed a certificate course, training or education, neither is one required to show that he has passed any examination. The requirement is the evidence that a candidate was educated up secondary level. In other words one must have gone through secondary school level. In this case, WAEC is not the exclusive proof for qualification to contest election.Any other evidence from the school or from other department of the government connected with education, is sufficient.
The law also recognizes other forms of education equivalent to or above secondary school education. PMB, even if he hadn’t completed his formal secondary school, it is not disputed that he had attended several military courses that are not only equivalent but much higher than secondary school level.

Besides his career in the military spanned more than thirty years and in addition not only did he reach the top

echelon of the military ranks but he also became the military head of the of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
What evidence of education would PMB be required to produce? More so that the Law also empowers INEC to, In their opinion, recognize not only any other form of education but also any experience, as sufficient to meet the educational criterion.

Having said that, it is important to say that while failure to present WAEC is not a ground for disqualification from contesting election, it’s however a ground for disqualification to file a false statement regarding one’s educational and other personal documents. This is the only issue anybody may legitimately raise, that’s if he has any evidence to show that PMB has presented false documents to INEC.

Those who are making noise may have to either petition INEC or go to court with their complaint supported by evidence or for the sake of peace keep their peace.