FED GOVT COLLEGE SOKOTO CONFIRMS SENATOR GERSHOM BASSEY’S RESULTS
Federal Government College, Sokoto on Monday sent an official from the school to attest before the Cross River Election Tribunal that Senator Gershom Bassey attended the school and duly wrote and passed the West African School Certificate WASC, in 1977.
Mallam Sani Bawa Mohammed, Executive Officer General Duties of the school who stood in for the principal of the school told the Tribunal that Senator Gershom Bassey was admitted on the 9th of October, 1972 and sat for the west African School Certificate in June 1977 with examination number 226062/026 and passed with credits in five subjects.
He said a fire incident in the school in 1983 razed the administration block of the school and burnt many things including certificate and “those who had not collected their certificates since the inception of the school before the fire incident in 1983 had their certificate burnt in the fire incident and that of Bassey Gershom Henry was among the certificates”
Counsel to Prince Otu, Basrrister Essien Andrew who initially opposed the Sokoto Government College official from testifying before the Tribunal but was over ruled by the judges had no objection to the broadsheet result of the school for the year 1977 obtained from the West African Examinations Council WAEC, which showed the subjects and grades scored by Senator Bassey in the examination.
The broadsheet result was accepted and marked as exhibit by the Tribunal as an evidence of school certificate which the petitioner claimed he does not posses.
Also on Monday, the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, testified at the Tribunal to attest to the free and fair conduct of the March 28 Senatorial election for the Southern Senatorial district.
Mr Chris Uche Okereke, the head of Operations in the INEC office in Calabar who stood in for the Resident Electoral Commission said materials were received from the headquarters of the Commission in Abuja and distributed appropriately to the local government areas.
He said the initial instructions was for the presiding officers to use the card readers for the accreditation of voters but when reports from across the country showed that most of the card readers were not functioning of the presiding officers did not know how to operate them, instructions came that there should be manual accreditation of voters.
Mr Okereke who brought the voters registers for Biase (122) and Akamkpa (147) attested that the accredited voters in the registers correspond with the results of the election said except in one or two cases were the presiding officer made some errors in the entry of the results, the exercise was free and fair.
Also on Monday, a new lead lawyer for INEC, ikechukwu Ukachukwu (SAN) took over the proceedings for the commission. This development may not be unconnected with the complaint of Senator Gershom Bassey over the performance of Barrister Okoi who was the INEC lawyer in the case.
Three motions by the lawyers to Senator Gershom Bassey which were fiercely contested by the lawyers to Prince Otu were ruled by the Tribunal in favour of Senator Bassey. These include the appearance of Mallam Mohammed as a witness to present the academic exercise results of Senator Gershom Bassey, the appearance of forensic expert to present the result of the finger prints of the Senatorial election.
My people wetin concern agbero with overload. Bad belle people, school or no school, his people want him and have voted for him. just give up.
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