…Yar’Adua, Justice Abdullahi wrote WASC with me –APC candidate

The presidential can­didate of the All Pro­gressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed that he wrote the University of Cambridge/ West African School Certif­icate examinations in 1961 with the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Justice Umar Abdullahi, retired president of the Court of Appeal, among others.
Speaking at a press confer­ence in Kano yesterday, while defending himself over the controversy surrounding his alleged missing certificates, he revealed that he had request­ed a copy of his certificate from the secondary school he attended.
The General was accom­panied to the briefing by his running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Kano State Gov­ernor, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the National Party Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun, among others.
He explained that he con­sented to addressing press on the raging controversy, given the general concern ex­pressed by his supporters and some well-meaning Nigerians that the issue be addressed, maintaining that otherwise, he would have dismissed the allegation as sheer mischief, which was not worth wasting the time of Nigerians.
General Buhari further stated: “I assumed all along that all my records were in the custody of the Military Sec­retary of the Nigeria Army, a position I have the privilege to occupy myself. Well to my surprise, we are now told that although a record of the result is available, there are no cop­ies of the certificate in my per­sonal file.
“This is why I have for­mally requested my old school, Provisional Secondary School, Katsina, which is now known as Government Col­lege, Katsina, to make avail­able the school’s copy of the result of the Cambridge West African Schools Certificate.”
General Buhari gave as­surance that his school’s copy of his result would be made available to the press the mo­ment it is available.
The General, however, not­ed: “Before we obtain that, let me say for the record that I at­tended Provisional Secondary School, Katsina. I graduated in 1961 with many prominent Nigerians, including General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the former Chief of Staff, Su­preme headquarters, Justice Umar Abdullahi, a former president of the Court of Ap­peal.
“We sat for the University of Cambridge/WASE exami­nation together in 1961, the year we graduated. My exami­nation number was 8200002 and I passed the examination in the Second Division.
“Although the ruling party would want to wish this away, the issue in this campaign is not my certificate which I obtained 53 years ago. The is­sues are the scandalous level of unemployment of millions of our young people, the state of the insecurity, the pervad­ing official corruption, which has impoverished our people and the lack of concern of the government for anything other than the retention of power.”