A pressure group, Northern Youth Assembly has filed a suit at the Federal High Court against Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara State over his eligibility or otherwise to contest the 2023 governorship election alleging serious discrepancies in his academic and birth certificates.
The Constitution provides that the minimum educational qualification for anyone vying for the position of a state governor in Nigeria is secondary school certificate or its equivalent. It is required of governorship candidates and most other elective positions for party candidates to be educated to that level which would enable them to read and write and be able to sign documents.
Matawalle’s NECO documents also seem to suggest he wrote the 2018 NECO examination as a full-time student. NECO conducts two Senior School Certificate Examinations in a year. First, the NECO June/July examination is usually called NECO Internal. This is the regular school candidates’ examination. Second, the NECO November/December examination is usually called the NECO external. This is the private candidate’s examination.
I have read stories about Gov. Matawalle’s certificate scandal and a case listed in a Federal High Court this morning, but if you have any doubts over the issue, this concise but fact loaded story done by will dispel any.