HURIWA challenges Imo senatorial candidate to defend certificate allegation


Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has raised concern over the alleged inability of the candidate of the  All Progressive Congress (APC) for the Imo North Senatorial District, Ibezim Frank, to produce his school certificates.
HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, who addressed a press conference on the issue, Wednesday in Abuja, said the situation was capable of denying the zone its representation in the Senate.
He said the zone has had the misfortune of not being well represented because of one issue or the other, adding: “There are issues that the man has not been able to explain to Nigerians and this our concern. We want to challenge him to prove to Nigerians, the people of Okigwe, and to show the human rights community, who are also stakeholders in the democratic process we practice in Nigeria, that he is qualified.
“We will not just keep quiet and allow another question of lack of proper certificate to continue to be the dominant topic of discussion in Nigeria. By now, we should have outgrown that stage.


“We do not think that the APC should continue to have questions of producing people to stand for political offices when they are not fit and proper.”
Onwubiko, who said his association was not bothered about who wins the forthcoming Imo Senatorial bye-election, stated that HURIWA was, however, concerned about the probity of the exercise.
“We don’t even care about whoever is the winner of the primaries of any political party. Our interest is that the person that the APC present to the people of Imo state as the winner of that primary of their political party has not sufficiently showed the people his certificate.
“He is having certificate issue. He has not defended the allegation that he has no proven record of any academic credential.
“We are interested because in the HURIWA we are very proud of one of the records we achieved concerning the investigation that took place as it concerned one of the Senior Special Assistants to the President on Corruption.”


HURIWA condemned the alleged role of the Governor Hope Uzodinma and the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, in allegedly producing a candidate whose credentials have not been validated. 
“In the first place, there is massive evidence to show that the person who won that primary is Ifeanyi Ararume from verifiable records because they said he was among those who went to the field to participate, but the governor sat at Douglas House and conjured a report and his preferred candidate was announced as the winner of that primary,” the rights group further stated.

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