The two pillars of Mr Gboyega Oyetola’s petition against the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke crashed today as a top witness, Rev Bunmi Jenyo confirmed the educational qualification of Governor Ademola Adeleke for Osun governorship.
While the forensic expert, Samuel Oduntan destroyed the allegations of over-voting, the Governor’s educational history and qualiificationa were also extensively attested to by the respondent’s witness.
Jenyo who testfied today at the Tribunal affirmed that it is public knowledge that to move from one institution to the other, you need the transcript of your cumulative academic record.
The respondents witness who affirmed that the Governor was more than qualified to contest posited that the Governor neither forge any certificate nor has any conflict in his certificates.
A Senior Assistant to Senator Ademola Adeleke, Jenyo was present the original copy of results and certificates used by Governor Adeleke during the Osun gubernatorial election.
Jenyo, during the cross-examination told the court that the Governor was never convicted for any forgery, both here in Nigeria and Abroad. Responding to questions, Jenyo said he was present in the United States of America when Senator Adeleke on the day of his graduation.
Responding on why taking him just 24 days to graduate from his first Diploma to a Degree in the USA. Jenyo said “The education system of the US allows you to move your cumulative records of your academic activities from one school to the other.”
Meanwhile, the sitting threw more light on the educational qualiifications and history of Governor Adeleke.
First, the Penn Foster High School certificate was not the basis of his admission and graduation with a university degree. The Penn Foster High School Diploma certificate is not in any way connected to his University Bsc Degree. It was a decision he took to ensure he satisfies agitation as to the status of his secondary education during the 2018 Osun Election.
The university degree was a cumulative outcome of his intermittent higher educational sojourn which started in June 1981 and concluded in August 2021.
His admission to the Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville Alabama USA in 1981 was not based on school certificate qualification but, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Academic College Test (ACT) which is equal to SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) alongside cumulative review of Academic Transcript comprising of results of promotion examinations from one secondary school class to the other ( Form 1- Form 5). That was a standard practice in the early 80s for admission into United States’s tertiary institutions;
All the schools attended at the United States confirmed the certificates, the transcripts and his sojourn across the various schools; The certificates and the schools were also reviewed and their legality confirmed by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education.
Admission to United States school in the 70s and 80s was not necessarily through school certificate qualifications. The conditions are mostly TOEFL, SAT or ACT. These are reviewed alongside your transcripts from secondary school like results of promotion examinations from one class to the other. The Governor entered Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama with TOEFL, ACT and his secondary school transcripts in June 1981after due evaluation by the School authorities. He was a student of Jacksonville State University from June 1981 till December 1986.
He transferred his studentship to Atlanta Metropolitan State College ( formerly known as Atlanta Junior College) which is part of the University System of Georgia owned by the State of Georgia USA. He transferred to the school in January 1987, and attended in the 1987 school year and 1991 school year.He re-enrolled in August 2019, Fall semester and attended continuously up till August 2021 when he finally graduated with a BSc in Criminal Justice. The cumulative hours and courses he earned over the period as listed accounted for the short time for his degree after he re-enrolled in August 2019. He would have even graduated earlier but he took a additional classes to retake three courses he had earlier passed but which the school authorities said have become obsolete.
The transcripts submitted by the Senator showed the history of his university education. In fact, Jacksonville State University confirmed in writing that Senator Adeleke enrolled in June 1981 and left in December 1986.
The Penn Foster High School Diploma is not the basis for his admission to the university or his eventual Bsc Degree. He chose to attend the school and earn the high school certificate to fulfil the desire within Nigeria that stigmatises whoever has no Passing Grades in WASC.