Army Finally Clears The Air On Number & Type Of GMB’s Certificates In Their Possession

The Nigerian military revealed that they have only a letter from the Principal of General Muhammadu Buhari’s secondary school, dated 1961, recommending him for enlistment into the military school.

The statement was released at press conference in Abuja today, January 20th by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig, Gen O. Laleye.

According to him the army does not have the original or copies of the certificates of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Buhari.

First of all he said, that military holds the retired senior officer in very high esteem and respect and would not be a party to any controversy surrounding his eligibility for any political office.

Mr. Laleye continued: “Suffice to state that Major General Buhari rose steadily to the enviable rank of Major General before becoming the Head of State of our dear country in December 1983.

“The media hype on retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s credentials as well as the numerous requests made by individuals and corporate bodies to the Nigerian Army on this issue have necessitated that we provide the facts as contained in the retired senior officer’s service record,” the director said.

“Records available indicate that Major General M Buhari applied to join the military as a Form Six student of the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina on 18 Oct 61. His application was duly endorsed by the Principal of the school, who also wrote a report on him and recommended him to be suitable for military commission,” he added.

Meanwhile, according to Mr. Laleye, there is no available record to show that process was followed in the 1960s.

He said: “Nevertheless, the entry made on the NA Form 199A at the point of documentation after commission as an officer indicated that the former Head of State obtained the West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 with credits in relevant subjects: English Language, Geography, History, Health Science, Hausa and a pass in English Literature. Neither the original copy, Certified True Copy (CTC) nor statement of result of Major General M Buhari’s WASC result is in his personal file.

“I hope this explanation will put to rest the raging controversy surrounding the secondary school credentials of Major General Mohammed Buhari as it affects the Nigerian Army.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the PDP to go to court over the controversies around the educational experiences of Buhari.

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba recently said that General Buhari, could be banned from contesting the 2015 general election, because of improperly filling the form.

It was recently disclosed that the United States Army War College, Pennsylvania wrote a letter to Nigerian army in 1980 praising Buhari’s intellect and smartness during his period as a fellow at the respected military academy.