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Former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has called on the police to investigate the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal Results of June 2018, allegedly linked to the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle.
Shinkafi, who is the Executive Director of the Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development, claimed that Matawalle submitted the said NECO SSCE June 2018 result to INEC as part of his personal particulars in nomination forms for the office of Governor of Zamfara State ahead of the 2023 general election, despite allegedly not being qualified to sit for the examination, which he described as a students-based internal examination.
According to him in a statement yesterday, NECO has guidelines for student registration, explaining that for its flagship SSCE (Internal), the process is handled directly by secondary schools using a combined offline and online registration system.
He argued that before commencing the registration process, students and school administrators must have a National Identification Number (NIN), correct biodata, passport photograph, and that transfer or admission of candidates into Senior Secondary School 3 across different schools is strictly prohibited.
“From the above NECO guidelines for candidates to sit for SSCE, it is curious how Bello Matawalle, a former member of the House of Representatives at the time, sat for the SSCE June 2018 examination meant for regular students in their uniforms while preparing to contest for Governor of Zamfara State in 2019, which he won on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Equally, Bello Matawalle had contested local government chairmanship, House of Representatives, Senate and governorship elections from 1998 to the 2023 general elections.
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“In these elections Matawalle contested, he submitted to INEC a statement of result issued by the Ministry of Education, Sokoto State, Division of Science & Technical Education, Vocational Training Centre, Bunza (External & Internal Results), May/June 1985.
“The police will also investigate if indeed Matawalle attended the famous Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, as stated in the above form, though the course and the period of study were not stated.
“It is in the national interest to hold elected and appointed public office holders accountable to justify the confidence citizens reposed in them.
“Anyone that is found culpable of a criminal offence should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others. This is the only way to sanitise public service in Nigeria and build a decent democratic society present and future generations will be proud of.
“We count on the Inspector General of Police’s prompt investigation of these allegations against Bello Matawalle, Minister of State for Defence,” he said.
