By Adeleye Kunle
Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, has threatened to withdraw from the race if his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificates are forged.
According to Track News, Eno has been dragged to court by another governorship aspirant, Akan Okon, on charges of forgery of WAEC certificates and false age declaration.
Eno described the certificate controversy as a distraction in an interview on Tuesday, saying he is ready to accept the court’s decision.
He stated that if WAEC establishes that he forged his certificates, he will resign as a gubernatorial candidate and pastor.
“Anything you see on social media about my WAEC certificates is purely for entertainment purposes.” If WAEC finds out that I, Umo Bassey Eno, forged my certificate in 1981 or 1983, I will not only resign as a gubernatorial candidate, but I will also resign as a pastor.
“Let people rant all they want, but let them know that it emboldens and empowers me to continue.”
“What they’re doing isn’t going to distract me; what they’re doing is the fuel I need to get to the next level.” There is no other commitment that anyone would make than what I have made today; my pastoral calling is as important to me as serving the people of Akwa Ibom state.”
The PDP governorship candidate stated that his strict parental upbringing would never have allowed him to falsify his certificates, and that he was unconcerned about the situation.
Eno stated that there was nothing wrong with retaking an exam to make up for papers he had previously failed, and that his story is one of resilience and focus despite the situation he found himself in.
“In 1981, 41 years ago, I had no intention of becoming governor of Akwa Ibom state; I was barely 17 years old, and knowing the kind of parents I had, I would never have thought of forging; it never crossed my mind, and it was not even in the lexicon at the time.”
“There is nothing wrong with taking an exam under the circumstances I grew up in, then retaking the exam and passing the same subject.”
“There is nothing wrong with failing; what is wrong with remaining down.” “There is something good about falling and rising; that is the story that every young person should learn from me; that you can fall but you do not stay down; that you grow and move on,” he said.
This article first appeared on Track News.
