How LP, PDP, APC Lawmakers Lost Election Victory Over Certificate Forgery Scandal

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Certificate forgery allegations featured prominently again as election petition tribunals delivered judgements across the country.

Allegations on forged (or missing) certificates have become a recurring issue in Nigeria’s political scene since 1999 when the country returned to democracy.

Although not all the allegations resulted in proven cases of certificate forgery, as some cases were dismissed in court due to a lack of evidence, a few others were rightly found guilty of this infraction.

However, the trend had continued unabated with the recent judgements emanating from the various election petition tribunals on the outcome of 2023 general elections.

Some members of the National Assembly were sacked by tribunals over certificate forgery. However, it is believed that the last is yet to be heard as the affected lawmakers are appealing the judgements.

It was gathered that the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal across the nation upturned the election victories of 25 House of Representatives members and 5 Senators.

The Peoples Democratic Party lost 12 members, Labour Party lost 10, while All Progressives Congress and New Nigeria People’s Party lost 3 and 1 respectively.