Katsina College releases Buhari’s ​WASC results, Fani-Kayode asks Buhari to withdraw from presidential race

Government College, formerly Provincial Secondary School, Katsina, which Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, graduated from in 1961, has released Mr. Buhari’s secondary school certificate examination results.

The results confirm Mr. Buhari’s claim that he undertook the University of Cambridge West African School Certificate Examinations and obtained five credits in English Language, Geography, Hausa Language, History, and Health Science.


The results show that Mr. Buhari, a former military head of state, failed in Mathematics and Woodwork, and had a pass in Literature in English.

The examination centre number was 8280, while Mr. Buhari’s candidate number was 002.

Buhari's certificate

The statement of results is printed on the letter head paper of the Katsina State Ministry of Education, and it shows that the examination took place in 1961.

The Cambridge print out also shows the result of 17 other candidates at the centre, including Shehu Yar’adua, a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters.

Controversy over Mr. Buhari’s result escalated Tuesday after the Nigerian Army, which had earlier admitted to having copies of his certificate, reversed itself, saying it could not even attest to the details listed in his records.

The spokesperson of the Army, Olajide Laleye, said “Neither the original copy, certified true copy (CTC) nor statement of result of Major-.Gen. Mohammadu Buhari‘s WASC result is in his personal file.”

He said while it is the practice in the Nigerian Army that before candidates are shortlisted for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the service, the selection board verifies the original copies of credentials as presented, “There is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 1960s.”

The military’s comments came after the retired general had said that his lost copies of results were with the Army, an explanation he gave ahead of elections February 14.


Buhari had at a news conference at the Kano State Government House, dismissed the controversy over his school certificate as a mischief orchestrated by the Peoples Democratic Party.

He explained that but for concerns being raised by his numerous supporters, he would have ignored the matter because he considered it a non-issue.

The APC candidate said that the fact that he sat for and obtained the Cambridge/ West Africa Examination Council Certificate was not in doubt because his examination number, 8280002, was verifiable.

Muhammadu Buhari (arrowed) as a student of the Government College (formerly Provincial Secondary School), Katsina, with his classmates and teachers in a group photograph in 1960.

Buhari also named some of his classmates who sat for the same examination as the late Maj. Gen. Shehu Yar’Adua and a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi.

He said he had assumed that copies of his certificate were in his personal file with the Military Board but that he was surprised to hear the Army claiming on Tuesday that they did not have them.

The Katsina born former Head of State and politician said, “I had assumed all along that all my records were in the custody of the Military Secretary of the Nigerian Army. Much to my surprise, we are now told that although a record of the result is available, there are no copies of the certificate in my personal file.

“This is why I formally requested my old school, the Provincial Secondary School, Katsina (which is now known as Government College) to make available the school’s copy of the result of the Cambridge/West African School Certificate. This will be made available to the press the moment this is available.

“I attended Provincial Secondary School, Katsina. I graduated in 1961 with many prominent Nigerians, including Gen Shehu Yar’Adua, former chief of staff at the Supreme Headquarters, and Justice Umaru Abdullahi, a former President of the Court of Appeal.

“We sat for the University of Cambridge/WASC Examination together in 1961, the year we graduated. My examination number was 8280002, and I passed the examination in the Second Division.”

Buhari noted that although the pdp would want to wish it away, the issue in the 2015 presidential election could not be about his school certificate which he obtained 53 years ago.

He argued that the issues in the campaign remained the scandalous level of unemployment of millions of young Nigerians, insecurity, corruption and the lack of concern of the government for anything other than the retention of power at all costs.

When contacted, WAEC’s Public Affairs Officer, National Office, Demianus Ojijeogu, said the council had no right to disclose any person’s result to the public.

According to him, even if the Council has Buhari’s result or that of any other person, it is a personal document kept in trust.

Ojijeogu said, “Only the court of law can mandate us to release such information. It is not something that we will easily divulge to the public unless there is a directive from the court.

“Again, the general’s result is a personal document. It is akin to going to the bank with somebody’s account number to seek clarification of the person’s account. No responsible bank will respond to that enquiry.”

 Fani-Kayode asks Buhari to withdraw from presidential race

But the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, said Buhari’s statement at the news conference contrasted with his deposition in a sworn affidavit submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Fani Kayode

He told journalists in Abuja that the Army should withdraw the APC candidate’s rank for perjury since he claimed earlier in the affidavit that his certificate was with the military.

Fani-Kayode said, “The implication of the action of this so-called ‘Mr. Clean’ is nothing but perjury and we all know that this is a grave criminal offence under our laws and constitution.”

He said the implication of this was that without the availability of the certificate, Buhari ought not to have been a commissioned officer in the Army in the first place.

The Presidential campaign organisation spokesperson also called on Buhari to tender an apology to Nigerians and withdraw from the presidential race.

He said, “We urge Buhari and his party to do the right thing and tender an unreserved apology to the Nigerian people, throw in the towel and report to the nearest police station for interrogation and prosecution.

“Anything less than that would be an insult to the collective intelligence and integrity of Nigerians .


“We also urge the Nigerian Armed Forces to consider the possibility of stripping him of his rank and privileges given the fact that he was never qualified to join the Army as a commissioned officer in the first place because he never had the prerequisite qualifications which was a school certificate.

“Given this, at best Buhari should never have been anything more than a non-commissioned officer.”

Fani-Kayode called on Nigerians to disregard anyone claiming that the PDP was behind the brouhaha that had followed the non-presentation of Buhari’s certificate.