We issued because Buhari asked: more controversy over President’s results as WAEC refutes Presidency’s claims

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has insisted that it issued President Muhammadu Buhari Attestation results on Friday because the president asked for it.

The examination body’s clarification follows claims by the Presidency that Buhari didn’t apply for the results and that WAEC brought them voluntarily.

Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu had claimed in an article on Saturday that WAEC presented the results to the president without him asking for it. And when contacted by Punch, he restated that:

“No, the President did not apply for the documents. I made this clear in an opinion I wrote on Friday. The presentation of the documents to the President was strictly an initiative of WAEC.”

However, in an interview with Punch on Saturday, WAEC’s spokesman, Damianus Ojijeogu, stated that it was not possible for the body to issue the document to Buhari if he didn’t ask for it.

“We would not have given him the document if he didn’t apply,” he said. ” It is only Buhari or a court that can ask for the results. There is no other person. So he asked for it.”

WAEC also noted that said in issuing an Attestation of Results to replace a lost or missing WAEC certificate, the subjects, where the candidate had F9, would no longer be captured.

WAEC Nigeria said these on its Twitter handle, @waecnigeria, on Saturday, while answering questions from several Nigerians on the omission of F9 from Buhari’s attestation.

“That is WAEC Twitter handle. It is correct,” Ojijeogu added, confirming the authenticity of the post on the handle.

Buhari’s Attestation Results

The documents were presented to the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a courtesy visit by a delegation of WAEC led by its Registrar, Dr. Iyi Uwadiae.

Uwadiae was accompanied by the Head, National Office, WAEC, Olutise Adenipekun; Head, Public Affairs, WAEC, Abiodun Aduloju; and the Zonal Coordinator, WAEC Abuja, Olufemi Oke.

The president received the documents amidst the controversy generated over his claim in his details presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission that his credentials were with the Military Board.

The board had subsequently declared the President’s certificate missing, hence the need for him to get an attestation and a confirmation.

Controversy has, nonetheless, continued to surround the issuance of the documents to Buhari with many insisting that the examination body did not exist between 1961 and 1962 when the president said he wrote the exam.

Still others argue that Hausa Langauge which was listed as one of the subjects Buhari took, was not offered as a subject at the time.