We Are Not In Possession Of Buhari's Original Certificates..Army

To assert its innocence that the original credentials of former Head of State and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammad Buhari (rtd), are not in its custody, the Nigerian Army has thrown the ex leader a poser.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Olajide Laleye, asked: "if indeed the Army is in possession of those certificates, why has he (Buhari) not demanded for them since 2003 he forayed into presidential elections and had other shots at the presidency in 2007 and 2011 respectively?"

The Army spokesman wondered why this should be an issue now when the same candidate had contested three times for the presidency and must have presented some sort of credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He insisted that contrary to insinuations, the Army does not have in its possession the originals but only copies of credentials of all its officers whether serving, retired or deceased, including those of Gen. Muhammad Buhari (rtd).

While responding to inquiries on the issue Saturday, Laleye explained that the Military Secretary (MS) has the copies of the credentials, with the original in possession of the individual officers.

Laleye added that even the copies domiciled with the MS are accessible to their owners within 24 hours.

"The Military Secretary is the custodian of the military records of all officers serving, retired or deceased.  Therefore original  credentials are  with the officer while copies are with the MS. Gaining access to one’s credentials in the MS is possible within 24 hours", he said.