Though, in order to avert Bayelsa scenario Oshiomhole inaugurated APC’s screening and appeal committees for its members contesting governorship primary in Edo State, expressed doubt over the authenticity of Obaseki’s UI certificate.

However, the governor, through his spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, challenged Oshiomhole to go and confirm the authenticity of his certificate at the UI. He also said the national chairman should tell Nigerians the university he attended.

Doubting Obaseki’s UI certificate, the national chairman on Tuesday directed the screening committee to confirm it from the nation’s premier university

Oshiomhole said, “Someone should approach the UI and end this matter once and for all. If the certificate Obaseki parades is that of the UI, find out how did he pass senate screening of those days? I’m aware that in those days when this man never dreamt of becoming a governor, every student, no matter your status or your family name, must pass screening.

“It is done every third term at the UNN (University of Nigeria Nsukka), then we ran terminal not semester programme. The final screening was in the third year, before you go in for your final year.

“How comes the UI allowed him then. Did he do a remedial? which was not unlikely. These are questions. Many came in especially in education and linguistics, did remedial for one year and if the result was good, gained direct entry and graduated three years after.’’

He charged members of the two committees not to spare any effort in ensuring that they conducted due diligence on all claims contained in the documents submitted by all six aspirants seeking to contest the party’s primary.

He stated, “The screening is not a formality and we expect you to be very meticulous in every material in particular to protect our party so that it would not be said that we did not learn anything from Bayelsa. As you know sometimes when things go wrong, everybody sees it that NWC did not do a thorough job. So, people personalized it. They say, ‘If the chairman is thorough, if he has done his job this will not happen but that is the price for leadership.”

Meanwhile, Obaseki, through his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Osagie, said, “The University of Ibadan is perhaps the most reputable university in Africa. The University of Ibadan awarded a BA degree in Classical Studies to his excellency the governor as far back as 1979. The university is still there. If anybody feels the certificate is not credible why doesn’t the person go there to verify?

“Why are we just seeing this only in the media? Bear in mind that the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, was among an elite corps of illustrious alumni of the university people to deliver a national alumni lecture in August 2018. Do you think such an institution will call someone who is not an alumnus to deliver such a lecture?”

“Describing the allegations as baseless, he said, “We have said before, these allegations are baseless and come to think of it, which university did (Adams) Oshiomhole attend to know what the admission process is like? The responsibility of setting guidelines for admission into a university rests on the Senate of the institution. The lecturers who taught the governors are still alive and the institution is still there.”