Shinkafi asks IGP to investigate Matawalle's 2018 NECO certificate

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has filed a petition with Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu. The petition requests an investigation into the 2018 National Examination Council (NECO) certificate that Minister of State for Defence Bello Mohammed Matawalle submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Shinkafi’s petition challenges the validity of Matawalle’s certificate, his overall educational qualifications, and the records he has provided to electoral authorities over the years. It calls for a police inquiry into the matter.

The request is contained in a statement signed by Shinkafi, who also serves as Executive Director of the Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development.

According to the statement, Matawalle included a June 2018 NECO Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) internal result in the documents he submitted to INEC as part of his nomination for Governor of Zamfara State.

“It is on record that Bello Matawalle submitted to INEC the said NECO SSCE June 2018 as part of his personal particulars in his nomination forms for the office of Governor of Zamfara State ahead of the 2023 general election,” Shinkafi said.

The petition argues that the examination is a school‑based internal test reserved for final‑year secondary students and questions how Matawalle, a former member of the House of Representatives, sat for it.

“It is curious how Bello Matawalle, a former member of the House of Representatives at the time sat for the SSCE June 2018 examination meant for regular students in their uniforms, while preparing to contest for Governor of Zamfara State in 2019, which he won on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,” the petition added.

Beyond the NECO certificate, Shinkafi also questions the educational qualification Matawalle relied on in earlier elections, citing a May/June 1985 statement of result issued by the Vocational Training Centre in Bunza, Sokoto State.

The petition references a December 28 2018 letter from the Federal Ministry of Education stating that the certificate could not be evaluated as equivalent to a Senior School Certificate.

Shinkafi maintains that the issues raised have implications for constitutional eligibility requirements for elective office. He notes that candidates for the House of Representatives and governorship positions must possess at least a school certificate or its equivalent.

“The Inspector General of Police is urged to direct a thorough investigation of this clear breach of the nation’s Constitution by a political office holder,” the petition says.

The group says it has submitted copies of Matawalle’s vocational training result, the Federal Ministry of Education letter, the June 2018 NECO result, and relevant INEC forms to support its claims.

The petition also requests verification of Matawalle’s claimed attendance at Yaba College of Technology, noting that neither the course of study nor the period of attendance is indicated in the referenced forms.

“It is in the national interest to hold elected and appointed public office holders accountable to justify the confidence citizens reposed in them. Anyone who is found culpable of a criminal offence should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others,” he said.