By Sunday Ani, Lagos
The Apapa Stakeholders Forum has debunked the allegation circulating that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship candidate for Apapa Local Government Area, Gabriel Oluwaseun, presented a fake National Examination Council (NECO) certificate.
The Chairman of the Forum, Mr Olowotan Babatunde, told reporters the false allegation was the handiwork of certain individuals who were unhappy and uncomfortable with the emergence of Gabriel. He said they have been going around, trying to rubbish his integrity using the certificate forgery allegations.
There was a media report recently, which claimed that Gabriel presented a fake NECO certificate, during the APC’s screening exercise for chairmanship candidates in Lagos.
Olowotan noted that as concerned residents of the area, they decided to investigate the allegation, which later revealed that the NECO certificate submitted by the candidate was genuine.
‘We decided to come out because we have discovered that some people are just trying to be funny and we cannot sit and watch, while they continue sponsoring campaigns of calumny against the candidacy of Gabriel. Some of us in this forum are observers and card-carrying members of the APC and that is why we have chosen to speak out,’ he said.
‘We were concerned when we saw the story and with some of the information we had at hand, we got a NECO scratch card in order to confirm whether the claim is true. This is an era of technology and we discovered that the result is on the portal of NECO and it is genuine. So we wonder where that story of fake results is coming from.
‘Meanwhile, we have written to the school in question because those behind this allegation claimed to have obtained a letter from the school. The said letter claimed that Gabriel Oluwaseun indeed sat for the June/July 2008 NECO in the school.
‘The same letter also claimed that the school does not have such a centre. For us, this is very contradicting and it is a political calumny and attempt to soil the name of Gabriel Oluwaseun.
‘We are standing by him and we won’t allow these detractors to have their way, and by the grace of God, Gabriel will eventually emerge as the next chairman of this local government.’