Gov Aiyedatiwa Accused of Certificate Forgery

Fidelis David in Akure

A social-political group, the Ondo State Redemption Initiative (OSRI), yesterday accused the Governor of Ondo State, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa, of certificate forgery.

The group in a statement issued by its President, Adebayo Ogunsanmi; Secretary, Jide Oriola, and Publicity Secretary, Sunday Ayeni, said Aiyedatiwa’s educational claims have been exposed as a fraud and unworthy to lead the state.

Basically, the group alleged that Aiyedatiwa, in his resume, claimed to have acquired an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Ibadan in 2001, but checks have proved that an advanced diploma in business administration was not available at the University of Ibadan in 2001.

“According to his academic records, Aiyedatiwa’s educational journey began at Saint Peter’s UNA (now FAC) Primary School in Obe Nla/Obe Adun, Ilaje LGA, Ondo State, where he attended from 1970 to 1976.”  

“He then pursued his secondary education at the Ikosi High School in Ketu, Lagos, completing it in
1982.

“In 1986, Aiyedatiwa achieved his Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in Economics and Government at the Lagos State College of Education (now known as Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education) located in Ijanikin, Lagos.

“He claimed to have earned an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Ibadan in 2001, after which he claimed to have become an alumnus of Lagos Business School, the Pan-Atlantic University in Lekki, Lagos, though year and course of study were not included.

“He further claimed to have obtained a Post-graduate certification in Chief Executive Education (CEP) in Business Management, after which he received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool in the UK in 2013,” the statement alleged.

The group said these academic records were not true, and warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders against fielding a candidate with questionable academic records.

While responding to the allegation, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Ebenezer Adeniyan, said those who accused the governor of forgery should come up with evidence.

He said: “Forgery is a weighty allegations; nobody should bring that allegation without evidence. His documents were screen by the electoral body committee and nobody sued him, and why are some people saying all this now?

“The man was elected over three years ago and nobody wrote anything against him that he forged certificate, but now that he has become the governor, they are now accusing him of certificate forgery. This group should provide evidence of this certificate forgery against him.

“I can’t react to something like this not until I see the evidence, if they had brought the evidence now, I can proceed to ask the governor himself. But they are not bringing any evidence forward so this kind of story should not be used by any media organisation.

“This group is faceless; you can’t find them on Facebook or at the registry of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), they have no identity, we are not saying people should not campaign, and we cannot stop it. But when people bring an allegation, they should come with evidence. This group should bring their evidence, but if they can’t bring the evidence, I can’t react to that.”