31st July, 2019
The Deputy Registrar, School Examinations in Nigeria, West African Examination Council, WAEC, Osidehinde Adewunmi, has confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari sat for the Cambridge University examination, in conjunction with WAEC in 1961.
When asked by the counsel for the All Progressives Congress, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Adewunmi said he, as a WAEC official, certified one of the documents bearing the name of the University of Cambridge Moderated Examination earlier tendered as Exhibit marked R21.
The witness, who said he had been working with WAEC for about 30 years, told the tribunal that the examination was conducted by Cambridge University in conjunction with WAEC.
According to him, 18 persons sat for the examinations in 1961, adding that Buhari was listed as number two on the list of candidates for the examination.
Adewunmi stated that Buhari sat for eight subjects and had five credits in the examination – Oral English, C5; History, A3; Geography, C6; Hausa, C5; and Health Science, C6.
“He came out with aggregate of 32 and he was awarded Grade 2,” he confirmed.
He said “whoever has this (the R21 exhibit) has secondary education”.
However, when cross-examined by the petitioners’ lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), Adewunmi was asked if Exhibit R19 was a certificate, he said, “I cannot say whether it is a certificate because my signature is not on the certificate. It is not bearing my name or the name of my organisation”.
Asked again, the witness said, “This document is bearing the name of Cambridge University Assessment International Education”.
Asked if the document was issued by WAEC, he said, “It is not a document from the West Africa Examination Council”.
Asked about Exhibit R21, he said, “This is the foundation, the primary foundation for issuance of a certificate.”
The witness was also asked if the document was a certificate.
“This is not a certificate,” the witness answered.
When asked, he also said, “I have never worked with the University of Cambridge”.
The PUNCH reports that in his bid to point out out contradictions in the two documents, the petitioners’ lawyers asked the witness to compare the number of subjects listed against Buhari in them.
He confirmed that in R21, “The number of subjects listed against the 2nd respondent (Buhari) is eight”, and in R19 “six subjects”.