Alex Ajayi confirms issuing WAEC certificate to Buhari

Forum 7 years ago

Alex Ajayi confirms issuing WAEC certificate to Buhari

Alex Ajayi who is a former registrar of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has opened up that he issued certificate to Muhammadu Buhari in the 60s.

The issue of President Buhari’s certificate caused a controversy in the run-up to the presidential election in 2015 and even after he was elected, petitions have been submitted in court challenging the legitimacy of Buhari whom many believe does not possess a WAEC certificate or its equivalence.

Alex Ajayi confirmed issuing WAEC certificates to President Buhari

In an interview with The Punch, the 86-year-old Ajayi who is the first graduate from Adfo-Ekiti put to rest the controversy sorruonding the president’s certificate by revealing that apart from Buhari, he also issued certificates to the late General Sanni Abacha and General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

He said: “I joined the West African Examination Council as a pioneer staff. I was the first substantive Nigerian Assistant Registrar. I took over the control of the examination from the University of Cambridge. I took examiners to Cambridge for training across 10 years and trained them in Nigeria. I had the opportunity of issuing WAEC certificates to three former Heads of State: Buhari, Abacha and Babangida in the 60s.

“When I was in WAEC, I was put on the council of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1966 by the national government of Aguiyi Ironsi. I was put on three important committees. The vice-chancellor and others were interested that I became a full staff of the university which I was not really keen about. But I finally accepted out of pressure. When I was serving on the council of the University of Ife, I was among the three-member committee selected by Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the first chancellor. I was on the council that installed him in 1967. From the early days of my life, I never applied for jobs. I was just invited.


“I stayed at the University of Ife before I left for an examination correspondence college as a director and controller producing lectures for professional courses and involved with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Insurers and Institute of Bankers. I had the joy of launching these new lecture courses in the universities in Lagos, Ife and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.”