Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki, the Pioneer President and Chairman of the Governing Council, announced this during a meeting with the leadership of the National Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Abuja on Tuesday.

The institute will collaborate with IPAC to authenticate documents of aspirants before the primary elections in the 2027 general elections. “Politics is too important to be left in the hands of politicians,” Gashinbaki stated, emphasizing the need to strengthen the electoral management process through the use of forensic tools to prevent electoral fraud and subsequent embarrassment for the country.

Gashinbaki cited the example of Bayelsa, where an elected governor’s election was nullified due to certificate forgery. He stressed the importance of preventing such situations to avoid the decline of governance and the rise of impunity, which has led to multiple coups across Africa.

To address these issues, the institute is setting up two laboratories critical for the 2027 general elections. These labs will ensure that no forged documents, such as NYSC certificates, tax clearance certificates, or academic certificates, are submitted by politicians.

“We’ll work with IPAC to help in authentication of the documents of candidates that would stand elections before the primary elections,” Gashinbaki reiterated.

Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, Chairman of IPAC and National Chairman of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), supported the initiative, saying, “This partnership, for me and the council, is a welcome development. It must be encouraged and consolidated.”

He expressed hope that Nigerians will agree on the need for a better system and take the necessary steps to address the country’s problems.

The apex court stated this while giving a reason for dismissing the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

According to the court, Buhari was eminently qualified to contest the last presidential election.

The court held that contrary to claim by the appellants, no law requires a candidate to submit his/her academic certificates to the electoral umpire before being allowed to contest the election.

The Supreme Court also held that the constitution does not require one to possess a secondary school certificate to be qualified to run for the presidency.

It added that schooling up to secondary school, without possessing the result of the final examination was sufficient.

The Supreme Court further explained that Buhari did not only show that he has a secondary certificate and rose to the rank of Major General in the Army, attended military training, became the nation’s Head of State, could communicate in English and possessed a primary school leaving certificate, all to the satisfaction of INEC.

The three-man panel of the court upheld the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, on the issues of Buhari’s qualification and possession of relevant certificates.

The apex court resolved issues 1 and 2 against the PDP and Atiku

Source: DailyPost