*How certificate forgery nailed Adejoke Orelope Adefulire senatorial ambition*
… Mafe, Idris Balogun, others certificates’ under scrutinies
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals, Hon Princess Adejoke Orelope Adefulire’s quest for the red chamber of Nigeria’s apex national legislative house, the Senate, came crashing due to her lack of basic secondary school certificate.
Hon Orelope Adefulire a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State was a roadside hair dresser, before she was conscripted into public office, her handlers then availed her a computer generated secondary school certificate at the outset of her political trajectory as a Commissioner in the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, (LASIEC).
Her tenures as a Lagos State legislator, commissioner and deputy Governor had her upgrading her educational status to becoming a degree holder, but those familiar with her educational pursuits, knows she neither attended classes, nor personally sit for tests and examinations, she had her Lagos State University degree via the services proxies and “special reverence” for politicians.
The SDG Office boss who had summoned all the party chairmen in Lagos West to an hotel in Ikeja, the state capital, to sign her senatorial nomination and expression of interest forms for Lagos West, preparatory to her open declaration, had to step down from contesting the position, when it became obvious that the Abdullahi Adamu led National Working Committee of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, party took the issue of certificates seriously and will not hesitate to throw out any aspirant found wanting in this area. The loss of Bayelsa State at the Supreme Court due to certificate issues is a learning curve.
Hon Orelope Adefulire who had the support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had to throw in the towel to the utter embarrassment of APC national leader and presidential aspirant. Her attempt to transfer her support to another aspirant Kayode Opeifa was not entertained, this is the second time she will be dropping the ball on Tinubu. In 2015 Hon Orelope Adefulire gave lack of finance as the reason why she could not run the senatorial race.
Though she spined the excuse that the 2022 budget of the Office of Sustainable Development Goals is N1.2trillion and she would rather remain to administer this fund. Hon Orelope Adefulire is lieing through the teeth, it is common knowledge that running a second term presidential appointive mandate as head of the outfit, the next befitting political trajectory for her would have been the Senate of the federal republic of Nigeria.
Hon Orelope Adefulire who has been at loggers head with Alhaji Abdullahi Ayinde Enilolobo and others over the apex leadership of Alimosho federal constituency, would have preferred to have political power via elective position, rather than continuing with the appointive presidential mandate, that can be withdrawn at any point and which may not be renewed for a third term, by the succeeding administration post 2023. Her foundation of certificate fraud put an end to her dream of being the second woman Senator from Lagos State. To the utter dismay of her supporters she did not present herself for screening.
Other politicians in Alimosho federal constituency who fall into her category include Alhaji Abiodun Abdurasheed Mafe a two term chairman of Mosan Okunola LCDA, who is presently running for Lagos State House of Assembly Alimosho State Constituency 01 and businessman Alhaji Idris Balogun (Oluomo Kafata) who is gunning for House of Representatives.
The two politicians are allies of the SDG Office boss, they are her preferred aspirants, but they both parade questionable educational certificates. Though this medium gathered that the duo dropped or will drop Senior Secondary Certificate Examination SSCE WAEC certificates, a thorough scrutiny will reveal that the duo are armed with forged basic certificates.
Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi had lobbied his colleagues in the APC aspirants screening committees for soft landing for Lagos State aspirants, but the gale of petitions that bothers on certificate forgeries have continued to tag Lagos aspirants, hence adequate attention is on certificates of Alimosho federal constituency aspirants in particular and Lagos State in general. “Most of the politicians in Lagos State are armed with forged certificates” so submits Rekiya Akib an official of the West African Examination Council engaged by the APC screening committee.
