The University of Ibadan (UI) on Tuesday cleared Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State of certificate forgery allegation levelled against him by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Deputy Chief Registrar (Legal), Abayomi Samuel Ajayi, appeared at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.
He testified in the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a chieftain, Williams Edobor, against Obaseki, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ajayi was led in evidence by Obaseki’s counsel, Ken Mozia (SAN).
He tendered relevant pages of the UI calendar for 1976, admission brochure for degrees, award of diplomas and certificates, Obaseki’s application for admission, and another for collection of his certificate.
They were accepted as exhibits by the court.
The witness maintained that from official records, Obaseki was admitted in 1976 through Direct Entry and that he graduated in the year 1979 during the tenure of Professor Tekena Tamuno as Vice-Chancellor and Mr S. J. Okudu as Registrar.
Under cross examination by Akin Olujimi (SAN), counsel to the APC, Ajayi said the fact that some part of the certificate photocopies were cut off by the photocopying machine due to size did not invalidate its originality and authenticity.
“I will not regard the photocopy of the original certificate as forged but incomplete photocopy because the certificate of the University of Ibadan is larger than the paper upon which the photocopy was made”, he said.
In June 2020, the UI confirmed that Obaseki was a student of the institution.
The Registrar, Olubunmi Faluyi, noted that the governor, Edo helmsman gained and studied Classics, adding that his certificate is genuine.
