Date: 2019-03-30

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara, Mr Oluwafemi Yusuf, on Saturday accused the Peoples Democratic Party of a plot to distract the state's governor-elect, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, with the allegation that he forged the Senior Secondary School Certificate he presented for election.

Yusuf, who spoke to journalists in Ilorin, said the governor-elect hails from a renowned family in Ilorin and would not involve himself in a scandalous act as being alleged by the opposition.

He said there were many traps set for the APC prior to the conduct of the just concluded elections which the party eventually surmounted and expressed the hope that the current allegation would also end as an exercise in futility.

The APC stalwart said, "The issue of certificate or no certificate is one of the plots the opposition set for us. There were a lot of traps that they set for us to put us on our toes like that of an APC faction. But we were able to overcome that.

"Issue of certificate scam in the country is not a new thing. We have heard series of allegations of certificate scandals aside from that of Toronto (against a former Speaker of the House of Representatives).

"This is just another gimmick to blackmail our governor-elect. But I want to assure you that Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq comes from a renowned family.

"The family is very proud of itself. And honestly, I used to envy that gentleman. None of the children of Alhaji Abdulganiyu Abdulrazaq has been found wanting.

"Our governor-elect is somebody that has dealings with people around the world. So, if at this point in time somebody is raising allegation about certificate, it could be suspicious.

"I don't believe in that. I believe it is one of the political gimmicks to distract the incoming government, and where we are in Kwara State now, we have passed that stage.

"Let them continue to unveil their gimmicks while we are busy working on the new Kwara." Yusuf said.

(NAN)