I’m Not Compelled By Any Law In Nigeria To Produce My Certificate — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he not compelled any law in Nigeria to produce his certificates to prove his eligibility to contest for election as a president. The President said this on Wednesday while adopting his final brief of argument in the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, against his re-election.

According to Buhari, he is only required by the 1999 Constitution to be educated. He, on this ground, urged the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja to dismiss the petition by PDP and Atiku Abubakar.“The law is well settled and the case-law is crystalized on the point that the 2nd Respondent (Buhari) cannot go beyond provisions of sections 131 and 131(8) of the 1999 Constitution.“The case-law is replete with decisions of this Court on the subject. We cannot amend the constitution.

“We need to make it very clear at this point that the Constitution and laws of the land do not expect any Certificate to be tendered or attached”, Buhari’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, submitted.

Buhari also relied on a recent judgment by the Court of Appeal in a Certificate scandal case involving Senator Ademola Adeleke, the governorship candidate of the PDP in Osun State. Buhari contended that the non-attachment of his certificates was not a valid ground to challenge his participation in the February 23 presidential election he won.

The Justice Mohammed Garba-led tribunal was therefore asked by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, through their lawyers, Prince Lateef Fagbami, SAN, and Yunus Usman, SAN, to dismiss the petition with a cost.