A shocked gallery of spectators watched in amazement on June 16, 2023, as Pastor Umo Eno disowned his WAEC result, which he had all along claimed was the qualifying document he used to gain admission into the University.

According to the Notification of Result, purportedly issued on 05/03/1999 from the Nov/Dec 1998 Senior School Certificate Examination, Eno had four ‘Credits’ in English Language, Christian Religious Knowledge, Geography and Economics; with ‘Good’ in Commerce.

However, at the resumed hearing at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Uyo, his lawyers held onto the 1981 and 1983 WAEC certificates, particularly after a senior legal officer of WAEC, Barr. Adekanbi Olaolu, said they had no record of Eno’s 1998 certificate to present. “We do not have anything for 1998 because there was no unique identification number in form of the school name or centre identification number,” he submitted.

That revelation apparently destabilised and forced Umo Eno’s legal team to reconsider their arguments before the tribunal, thus subsequently building a narrative around the 1981 and 1983 WAEC certificates as their client’s basic academic qualifications.

Even more shocking was that a few days after the sitting, our reporter stumbled on another WAEC result at the tribunal, this time for 2002, purportedly belonging to Umo Eno.

According to a very reliable source, the University of Uyo front-loaded a supposed “Certificate Screening/ Verification” form after the WAEC’s subpoenaed officer gave evidence. In the document, Uniuyo claimed Eno was cleared with the 2002 WAEC result during his final year.

The latest result, we further gathered, was used to “remedy” the 1981 and the 1983 results because both could not meet the required five credits.

However, pundits wondered how one candidate could use three different results for the purpose of an admission, whereas the maximum accepted by the National Universties Commission (NUC) are results from two sittings.

Moreover, it flies against reason and known standard for someone to be admitted with a different set of credentials only to be cleared for graduation with a completely different entry result.

As it stands, the implication of the latest 2002 WAEC result is that Umo Eno had already been admitted before he sat for the examination. “How then could the university clear him with the said 2002 WAEC result? This is scandalous! What did they use to admit him, for God’s sake?” queried an angry retired educationist, Mrs Anges Effiong.


1981 & 1983 WAEC Results Missed The Mark

On scrutiny, the 1981 and 1983 WAEC certificates, which Umo Eno depended on for his salvation before the tribunal, fall below the mark.

According to Dr Ime Akpabio, the Director of Academic Affairs of the University of Uyo, Umo Eno used a combination of his 1981 and 1983 WAEC results to gain admission into University.

However, a cursory appraisal of the two results leave much doubts as to how the student could have been admitted with less than five credits, against standard practice.

Specifically, in the 1981 result, Eno had ‘Good’ in Religious Knowledge, ‘Credit’ in Economics, with ‘Pass’ in Chemistry and Agricultural Science. In 1983, he had ‘Credits’ in English Language, Literature in English, Government and Economics. There was no entry for Mathematics.

Clearly, according knowledgeable academic experts, a combination of the two results could not give Umo Eno the required subject scores to deserve an admission into any university, since the standard has always been ‘Credit’ in five subjects. In fact, a combined reading of the two results produced only four subjects, instead of the usually required five-subject entry qualification.

Umo Eno & Name Listing Conflict

Distabilised by the revelation from WAEC, Umo Eno and his team have since dumped the 1998 certificate and switched their focus to the 1981, 1983 and very recently, 2002
WAEC results. However, their hope of building a credible defence hit the rock, when Barr Olaolu informed the tribunal of discrepancies in name listing on the documents paraded by the 2nd respondent (Umo Eno).

Led in evidence by the petitioner’s lead Counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, the WAEC official disclosed that the name of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2023 Governorship election in Akwa Ibom State, was not on their listing for their May/June Examination in 1981.

When Raji (SAN) asked the witness to confirm if the name ‘’Eno Umo Bassey’’ was in their records for the May/June 1981 examination as candidate, Olaolu responded by disclaiming the said candidate. He further confirmed to the court that the name on their record for the year and examination diet was “Bassey Umo Eno,’’ with candidate number 15520 and the serial number on the listing as 232.

According to him, while the 1981 certificate was issued in the name of “Bassey Umo Eno,” the 1983 certificate had “Eno Umo Bassey.” In his words: “The arrangement of names in Exhibit P10.2 (1981 Certificate) is not Eno Umo Bassey. The arrangement of names in exhibit P10.3 (1983 Certificate) is Eno Umo Bassey”.

The implication is that the two certificates do not belong to the same person. Olaolu also told the tribunal that while WAEC applies the names as received from the students or the schools, he was however aware that the standard practice is to write surnames first.

WAEC’s position over the confusion in Umo Eno’s name listings in the two WAEC certificates (1981 and 1983), means that the examinations body has absolved itself from any wrongdoing, thereby leaving the student to face the consequences of his mistakes.

Assuming the two WAEC certificates for Bassey Umo Eno (1981) and Eno Umo Bassey(1983) happen to being to the same person, it however cannot be combined to gain admission into any higher institution, since by law they belong to separate persons.

Although Barr Olaolu said there are procedures for correcting such an error, observers said Umo Eno probably left his chances a little too late. There are clear evidence that he submitted the two certificates, with the distinctly confusing names to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), thereby misleading the electoral umpire into clearing him for election.

WAEC Doesn’t Issue CTC for Misplaced Certificates

Before June 16, 2023, Umo Eno had tried convincing the court and the public that he possesses a valid 1998 WAEC certificate. However, when challenged to produce a copy, he flaunted a certified true copy (CTC) of the said certificate instead, claiming the original was misplaced. He even pleaded same in his written address to the tribunal in response to a petition by the YPP Governorship candidate, Senator Bassey Albert.

Yet again, such tissue of lies was smashed to pieces by the testimony of the subpoenaed WAEC official, Barr Olaolu, who told the tribunal that they do not issue CTC for misplaced or damaged certificates.

Rather, according to him, WAEC encourages candidates to apply for “attestation” of their original certificates in event of loss or damage. He also noted that WAEC provides room for candidates to remedy other challenges that may arise through a process outlined by the examination body. Observers however noted that even if such chances exist, Umo Eno did not take advantage if it.

A Misnormer: Two Results, One Registration Number

Another critical aspect of Umo Eno’s WAEC certificates has been the identical candidate numbers (15725119) for 1983 and 1998 WAEC results.

But the WAEC official told the court that “the Council can't issue two different certificates with same candidate number for a candidate. I have never seen a situation where a candidate will have the same candidate number in two WAEC certificates.”

The implication of the WAEC revelation for Umo Eno is that either his 1983 or the 1998 WAEC certificate is fake, perhaps the reason his legal team tried to abandoned one.

UNIUYO’s Act Foretold

Before the University of Uyo was subpoenaed to testify at the tribunal, the media was abuzz with reports of clandestine meetings between the Government House officials and the university staff.

First, there was the alleged plan to burn the Admin Block in an attempt to cover up Umo Eno’s documentation irregularities.

At one of the meetings, the school authorites were allegedly offered a huge sum as gratification allegedly for the doctoring of Umo Eno’s documents in the school record, the certified true copies (CTC) of which our reporters had obtain from the tribunal, already.

“Initially, the VC was offered N500 million. Then it was raised to N1billion naira, but it was supposed to be disguised as a donation for the development of the school,” one report had said.

Credible sources were quoted as reporting alleged plans to cook up another file for Umo Eno, using Dr Ime Akpabio, the Director of Academic Affairs and Records of the University.

A few days to Dr. Akpabio’s testimony before the tribunal, another report emerged about a hurriedly convened meeting between about 18 officials of the university and Umo Eno on June 7, 2023, at the Government House, where they were placed on oath not to disappoint the respondent.

The university administrators, including Dr Akpabio, were allegedly offered about N10million each to generate a new academic file for Umo Eno. Apparently, what played out at the tribunal on June 16, 2023, confirmed those reports!

Umo Eno knows he’s only but a temporary Governor as his days are numbered in that seat.

OBA is coming

School na scam, school na scam na em de lead to nonsense like this in future.

What is so hard in passing your WAEC exam. Is it that only the dullest of us go into politics?

If you know your results are questionable, why not lie low instead of disgracing yourself and your family? Must you be a governor?

I non just understand

And he would have been bragging, and harassing his children before now: "I used to lead my school....I had A1 parallel....I got series of awards for my educational prowess". Oga, go and rest joor.

9jatriot:
School na scam, school na scam na em de lead to nonsense like this in future.

What is so hard in passing your WAEC exam. Is it that only the dullest of us go into politics?

If you know your results are questionable, why not lie low instead of disgracing yourself and your family? Must you be a governor?

I non just understand

School is not scam after all.