Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, has said the certificate controversy of the All Progressives Congress’ presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, won’t surface if the Independent National Electoral Commission had a functional server that stores information.
Uzodimma made this assertion after meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Tinubu had left out details of his primary and secondary schools in the CF 01 INEC form he filled out for the 2023 election, according to a Daily Trust.
This sparked a controversy amongst Nigerians, especially on social media, casting doubts on Tinubu’s integrity.
Expressing hope on the issue, Uzodimma opined, “All the things so mentioned are entire party challenges that will be resolved. But for my presidential candidate, the issue of the certificate shouldn’t even arise. In 1999, he contested elections and became the governor of Lagos. In 2003, he contested election second term and became governor of Lagos.
“He ran and won as a senator in the country. Were record-keeping efficient, and the INEC server functional, he (Tinubu) wouldn’t need to do fresh submission (of documents). However, if whatever he is supposed to submit is not handy, it is not late yet. I’m sure before the time he will submit whatever is required of him.”
Asked if he was still convinced that the APC remained the party to beat in Nigeria despite the difficulty to find a running mate, he said: “What do you mean by difficulty? Who told you? The deadline is not yet here until the period of submission is over and we are not able to put a running mate, that is the only way you can ask this kind of question.
“However, I know because of the strength of character in our party, being the ruling party and how important the party is to us including you here, I appreciate your concern but be rest assured that we will fill a complete ticket for the presidential contest.”