The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has denied allegations that it engaged in unethical practices to collaborate with influential individuals in electoral disputes in court.
According to social media reports, a top WAEC director at the organization's headquarters in Lagos State was paid a large quantity of money to conceal and change academic records on the WAEC database in favour of the defendants.
The reports asserted that WAEC was complicit in denying all litigants access to examination records as evidence of a powerful person facing legal action, noting that an investigation agency had travelled to Ghana and finished its work while attempts to do so in Nigeria were thwarted by some WAEC officials.
In a statement, the spokeswoman for WAEC, Moyosola Adesina, called the accusations "baseless, malicious, and mischievous."
Adesina argued that it is absurd and offensive to suggest that WAEC employees accepted bribes to skew the judicial system. She added that as an organization founded on the values of professionalism and honesty, WAEC will never be intimidated into acting unethically.
The examination body claimed that, while it would have chosen to dismiss the accusations, it chose to provide some explanation and education for the Nigerian people.
WAEC said it is a lawful entity that respects the judiciary and willingly appears in court when subpoenaed, adding that on several occasions, the organisation has been summoned to court to verify the authenticity of results and certificates tendered by plaintiffs, and it has always cooperated accordingly.
In response to specific charges, WAEC stated that its Ghana office has no role in the outcomes of Nigerian candidates, just as Nigeria has no authority over the outcomes of Ghanaian candidates.
“Therefore, saying that some investigating agency had gone to Ghana and had concluded investigations on a matter, only to be blocked on the same matter in Nigeria, is a lie from the pit of hell,” WAEC said.
“The AOR will bear the current passport photograph of the candidate. Whereas certificates are co-signed by the sitting Registrar and current Chairman of Council, AoR is co-signed by the sitting Registrar and Head of National Office (HNO),” Adesina said
Adesina said there is no such thing as a duplicate certificate.
