The legislator representing Gamawa Federal Constituency of Bauchi State in the House of Representatives, Mohammed Garba-Gololo is caught in the web of a messy scandal.
Garba-Gololo has been accused of forging his BSc and MSc degrees certificates.
According to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Garba-Gololo presented forged Bsc degree with Second Class Honours (Upper Division) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degreeS to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to contest election.
In an eight-count charge, marked: CR/012/2022, filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by ICPC, the lawmaker claimed to have attended Lagos State University (LASU) where he purportedly obtained both certificates in 2002 and 2005 respectively.
Checks by The Nation show he attended Barewa College in Zaria where he obtained his West African Senior Certificate (WASC) and graduated in 1994.
Read Also: Rep who forged BSc, Masters degrees to be arraigned April 11
In 2019, a group – the Initiative for Vulnerable Women and Children (SIVWOC) – had petitioned APC warning of potential seat loss over the certificate scandals of some of Bauchi’s National Assembly candidates. Garba-Gololo was listed as one of those Bauchi candidates.
The group stated that Lagos State University had in a letter with reference number LASU/REG/STUM/147, dated 1st Nov., 2018, responded to its request for verification and authentication of the two degrees presented by Garba-Gololo in his Form CF001 in which they denied issuing the certificates and also said they had no records of him attending any of the two courses in the university.
Further checks show he had worked in the Operations Department of the National Maritime Authority (NMA). In 2015, he was elected to represent Gamawa Federal Constituency of Bauchi State in the Federal House of Representatives.
His arraignment before Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya has been scheduled for April 11, where his fate would be determined.
But whatever the outcome, it is doubtful whether public figures would learn any lessons about using hook or crook means to thrust themselves into positions where they are exposed to greater scrutiny.