SPEAKER of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila has advocated for the amendment of Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution to increase the academic qualifications of would-be political holders in the country.
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He made the call in a social Facebook statement on Monday.
“I also believe that the time has come for us to agree to review Section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution to increase the minimum educational qualification for persons aspiring to political office in Nigeria,” he said.
The current constitutional one, which only requires a secondary school certificate or equivalent as the minimum academic qualification for high political offices, Gbajabiamila said, was the product of a different time and reflected the reality of that time.
He stated that it was time to take another look at that position as part of the ongoing efforts to reform the country’s electoral system and establish a fully participatory democracy providing capable leadership for Nigerians.
The speaker’s statement reiterates calls by Nigerians across the country that those aspiring to govern the country at both states and the central levels should possess a minimum of university education or its equivalent.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s academic qualification was a subject of controversy both in the 2015 and 2019 general elections.
His inability to present, in particular, his West African Secondary School Certificate left him open to criticisms from opposition politicians who accused him of not possessing the certificate in the first place.
In a previous response to some of the criticisms, especially by the former administration of the People’s Democratic Party in 2015, Buhari, who ran for president in 2003, 2007 and 2011, repeatedly declared that copies of his academic records were with the military, a claim, the military also confirmed.
The former head of state also said original copies of his credentials were lost when his house was raided while he was in detention during the administration of Ibrahim Babangida, who toppled his regime.
However, in a reaction to the controversies, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) issued an ‘attestation certificate’ to the president to confirm that he indeed obtained a secondary school certificate from the examination body in 1961.
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