By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
At this juncture, I wish to confirm that
The Peoples Democratic Party( PDP), has asked the Federal High Court sitting in Benin City to disqualify Mr Patrick Obahiagbon, who is the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Senatorial candidate, from contesting the Edo south senatorial election scheduled for 16th February 2019.
The party’s prayer contained in suit No. FHC/B/CS/5/19, brought before the court and dated 23rd January 2019, with Mr Obahiagbon and the Independent National Election Commission, INEC, as 1st and 2nd defendants.
In the suit the party is asking the court to disqualify Mr Patrick Obahiagbon who they alleged supplied false information on oath to INEC.
According to the statement, which was made available to the press in Benin, by it’s Publicity Secretary, Chris Osa Nehikhare, said, “we are relying on two sets of sworn affidavits of support of personal particulars which Mr Obahiagbon submitted to INEC in 2007, with his date of birth as 12th April 1960 and in 2018 where his date of birth is 12th April 1964. ”
“In the Sworn affidavit specifying the Educational institutions that he attended with dates for the 2007 election, Mr. Obahiagbon also claimed to have left primary school the year he was born as he said he attended Our Lady of Lords Nursery School, Sapele from 1964 (the year he claimed as his date of birth in 2018) and graduated in 1970.
He said, ” based on the same 2007 documents, we noticed also that Mr Obahiagbon paraded a purported NYSC certificate of National Service Number NYSC/OD/LAW/88/56766 to show that he completed the service year from 18th September 1988 to 17th September 1989, which was issued in September 1989. The NYSC certificate is however absent in his 2018 documents to INEC.”
They qestioned , why he has refused to submit this NYSC certificate in 2018?
He explained that, “Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu who is the serving minister of Communications from Oyo State, Nigeria was disqualified by his party chairman, Adams Oshiomhole,from contesting for the office of governor of Oyo State because he did not partake in the mandatory NYSC program.
According to the constitution, it is a criminal offense for a Nigerian who graduated before the age of 30 not to participate in the NYSC program.
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