Oshiomhole was my classmate, don tells tribunal

A don, Prof. Philip Agbebaku, on Tuesday, told the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin, that Governor Adams Oshiomhole was his classmate at the Blessed Martin Secondary Model School, Jattu, Uzairue, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

He said both of them were in the school between 1963 and 1965.

The Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the July 14 governorship election in the state, Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (retd.) had approached the tribunal, contesting Oshiomhole's re-election, on the grounds of non-qualification and irregularities at the poll.

Agbebaku, who was a witness for the second respondent, told the tribunal that the governor was then known and addressed as Adams Aliu.

The don, who said he was not surprised that the governor is now known as Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, noted that people add or subtract from their names as they grow old.

Agbebaku said he was formerly known as Sunday Phillip Agbebaku, but later dropped Sunday from his credentials

He said, "This did not detract from my credentials."

Under cross-examination from the petitioner's counsel, Chief Efe Akpofure (SAN), on whether the results obtained by the governor from Ruskin College, Oxford, United Kingdom, was equivalent to a secondary school certificate, Agbebaku said the courses listed in the certificate were higher than secondary school subjects.

He said, "My Lord, Industrial Relations, Industrial Sociology and Industrial Economics are all university courses and are far, far higher than senior secondary school certificate subjects and cannot be taught in a school lower than the equivalent of a university."

Agbebaku said the power to evaluate the equivalent of results or certificates was vested in a section of the Ministry of Education, adding that his academic qualifications as a professor enabled him to rate the equivalent of certificates.