Osogbo – A socio-political group based in Osun State, Renewal Youth Movement (RYM), has admonished the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ademola Adeleke, to withdraw from the 2018 governorship race immediately following his involvement in a certificate scandal.

Already, the police have arrested the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Mr. Abbass Khalib Adejare, on Friday for questioning over the issuance of the certificate to Adeleke which some said forged and not genuine.

But Adeleke in a statement issued by director of media and publicity, Olawale Rasheed urged the police against criminalizing the issuance of his certificate by the arrested principal.

“If PDP leaders are sincere; if they are not corrupt and if they want the good of all, Senator Adeleke ought not to have scaled through the party’s screening process in the first instance. Those who conducted the screening should also be investigated. They cannot be naïve not to know genuine documents from fake. We don’t want to believe that their palms have been greased.”

“Nothing is hidden again about Senator Adeleke’s certificate scandal following the display by INEC of credentials of all the governorship candidates and their deputies. The only saving grace is for the man in question to honourably step aside by allowing a more competent person to contest the election under the PDP platform.

“Already, some people are in the police net including the principal of Muslim Grammar School, Ede, over the alleged certificate forgery. We feel that the forthcoming election should be a robust exercise where indigenes would have opportunity to elect a competent candidate as the governor among many.

“Adeleke’s certificate mess has shot the PDP in the leg and has put the party in a very tight and difficult situation. Our group is of the firm opinion that the PDP has lost the election before the contest and even if the party wins, such victory will definitely be short-lived as co-contestants from other political parties by now must have prepared grounds for the Tribunal”, the group stated.

According to RYM, going by Section 31 sub-sections 1 – 8 of the Electoral Act, it would be so difficult for Senator Adeleke to run in the September 22 governorship election with the ongoing cases instituted against him and if he refused to step down early, PDP may not present anyone for the said election.

They called on the national leaders of the PDP to prevail on Adeleke to step down and ensure that a competent individual is brought as his replacement without delay, arguing that it would be disastrous if the first major election after the re-joining of PDP by his group is lost by his party.

A statement issued by his director of media and publicity, Mr Olawale Rasheed faulted the stand of the police and the ruling government for spreading the news that Ademola Adeleke possess fake certificate.

According to the statement, “we are constrained to issue this statement on the recent arrest and persecution of the Principal of Ede Muslim High School over false accusations of forged school Testimonial issued to Senator Ademola Adeleke as a former student of the school because of a date error.

We note with great alarm the politically motivated arrest and unwarranted media attacks designed as a tool of harrassment, persecution and character assassination of the PDP flag bearer; Senator Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke.

It is insane to continue to peddle falsehood questioning Senator Adeleke’s attendance of Ede Muslim Grammar School (Now Ede Muslim High School), where he was very popular and well known for his amiable and friendly character, always drawing people close and seeking their cheerfulness and joy, a fact his school mates and alumni members attested to. He was in fact the President of the Old students association until recently.

We note with great concern the ridiculous criminalising of a simple issuance of School Testimonial to a former student.  The politicization of a routine school adminstrative process is hereby condemned in its strictest terms and we call the Police authorities to please call their men to order and redirect their attention and efforts to investigating and solving real crimes and not trumped up accusations.

It must be reaffirmed that issuance of a testimonial duly signed by authorities of the school to an ex student CANNOT be a crime irrespective of the date on it. There is clearly more to this exercise than routine investigation. How can a date issue on a Testimonial and not a Certificate be a matter that attracts the attention of FCIB Alagbon officers from Lagos?

We therefore call on the police authorities to unconditionally release Mr Abbass Khalib Adejare; the principal of Ede Muslim High School who is currently held in Lagos a distant and disconnected jurisdiction of School in Ede, Osun State. The school under his supervision had only performed a legal administrative duty through the issuance of a testimonial. Please note that a Testimonial is simply a statement of character attestation and confirmation of the years of attendance at the school.