West African Examinations Council certificate of Monisade Afuye, the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress, APC, deputy governorship candidate, has continued to generate controversy.
Already, INEC has fixed June 20, 2026, for the Ekiti governorship election.
INEC recently released and pasted the certificates submitted by all governorship candidates and their deputies and which forms part of the particulars.
According to the viral secondary school result, Afuye sat for the WAEC examination at Amoye Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti, in June 1978.
According to the only academic certificate submitted by the deputy governor, four subjects were recorded, with her scoring passes in History and Mathematics, and credits in Economics and Literature-in-English — making two credits and two passes.
But the deputy governor’s certificate has elicited a flurry of reactions and counter-reactions from opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), questioning her suitability for public office, while the APC has dismissed the criticisms as politically motivated.
Expressing concern over the academic credentials of the deputy governor in a statement on Sunday, the South-West PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Sanya Atofarati, described it as “embarrassing” and a “slap” on Ekiti State, a state widely known as the fountain of knowledge and a centre of intellectual excellence.
“This is a source of embarrassment for all Ekiti people. A state widely celebrated for academic excellence and intellectual prowess deserves better. It’s disheartening that the APC is presenting a candidate with such a record for the sensitive office of deputy governor.
“Imagine someone who today submits a low-level and unconvincing school certificate being expected tomorrow to represent a governor at meetings of professors and technocrats. What exactly does such a person have to offer?”
“Ekiti is known nationwide as a state of scholars, a state with one of the highest concentrations of professors. It is often said, jokingly but truthfully, that almost every household has a professor. Isn’t it dehumanising for such people to be represented by a mere school certificate holder?” he queried.
Also, Gboyega Aribisogan, the state Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, faulted the O’Level result submitted, saying that Ekiti State, regarded for its academic reputation, should not be led by people with questionable credentials and low education.
“In 2022, when she was announced as the APC deputy governorship candidate, some members of her own party openly discussed the doubts surrounding her qualification.
“At a point, a group of people went to the archives to verify whether she truly sat for the GCE. What later emerged was that she did not complete her education at the said school she claimed to have attended. Her colleagues from the school reportedly said she did not finish there. Rather, she sat for the GCE outside the school, and that is where the problem of a doubtful certificate started.
“Many of our professionals and alumni spoke out against her nomination then, but because of the dictatorial tendencies within the APC party structure at the time, the issue was swept under the carpet and she was imposed as deputy governor.
“As we head into another governorship election, our people are talking again. At the appropriate time, people will do the needful, and this could lead to another round of litigation that may truncate the ambition of both the governor and the deputy governor,” he added.
In response, the Ekiti APC Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, however dismissed the criticisms as baseless, politically motivated, and a desperate attempt by opposition parties to gain relevance ahead of the June 20 governorship election.
While accusing the opposition parties of “sensationalising” Afuye’s WAEC results to undermine public confidence in the APC, Dipe insisted that “the deputy governor met all constitutional requirements to contest as deputy governor.”
