It looks like the pulsating victory dance of the governor-elect of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, may end up getting slowed down to a mere shuffle of the feet, if news emanating from the Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, is anything to go by.
Eno who has been tagged the ‘Happy Hour’ man on account of his promise to declare ‘Happy Hour’ in the state every Friday for drinks to be sold at reduced prices at bars or other such facilities across the state, is being accused of certificate forgery and concealing the fact that he was expelled from school for it. Albert Bassey, the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the election, alleged that Eno was expelled from the University of Uyo in 2005 for obtaining admission with a fake West African Examination Council (WAEC)/Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) certificate.
In his petition, Bassey claimed that Eno was not at the time of the governorship election qualified to contest because he presented a forged WAEC June 1981 certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during his nomination by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Bassey also alleged that the WAEC certificate presented by Eno to the university while he was seeking admission, bears the examination number 15725119, the same as his 1983 WAEC certificate, which he claimed to also possess.
He alleged that while Eno claimed to have used his WAEC/SSCE certificate of December 1998 to gain admission to the university, the admission for 1998/1999 academic session was in October 1998, adding that Eno was listed as No 19 in the University of Uyo’s senate list of expelled students dated February 10, 2005.
Reacting to the allegations, Eno said that nothing could be farther from the truth. He did not only deny forging his WAEC result but also insisted that he possessed a Bachelor degree and a Master’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration, respectively, from the same university and wonders how he could have obtained them if he was expelled from the institution.
Eno who is the immediate past Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources in Akwa Ibom State is the founder of All Nations Christian Ministry International.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
