Fresh questions are emerging over the educational credentials submitted by former Kosofe Local Government Chairman, Dele Oshinowo, to the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the 2027 elections.
The questions were raised by the Civic Accountability & Electoral Transparency Initiative, CAETI, which is demanding that Oshinowo make clearer copies of the WAEC documents he submitted to INEC available for public scrutiny.
The intervention followed what the organisation described as its review of educational credentials attributed to the former council chairman and published by the electoral commission.
According to CAETI, the issue is not the number of WAEC-related documents submitted by Oshinowo, but whether the copies available to the public are clear enough to allow voters to establish what they actually contain.
In a statement signed by its Director-General, Adewale Oladimeji, the group said some portions of the documents appeared faint or difficult to decipher.
It specifically pointed to examination details, dates, subjects, grades and other identifying information which, it said, were not sufficiently legible in the copies available for public examination.
The development has prompted CAETI to ask a basic question: how can voters independently verify a candidate’s credentials if the information contained in the documents cannot be clearly read?
The organisation said the demand should not be interpreted as an allegation that Oshinowo forged or falsified any certificate.
Rather, it described its intervention as a transparency and accountability issue, particularly as political parties and prospective candidates begin preparations for the 2027 elections.
CAETI argued that publishing a document is only the first step in electoral transparency.
For information to serve its purpose, the group said, voters must be able to read, understand and independently verify it.
It therefore challenged Oshinowo to voluntarily release high-resolution copies of the original WAEC certificate or result documents submitted to INEC.
The group said doing so would allow members of the public to examine the relevant information without relying on speculation or interpretations.
CAETI also called on INEC to ensure that educational credentials submitted by political candidates are published in formats that permit meaningful public scrutiny.
“Transparency should not be reduced to merely putting a document on a notice board,” the organisation said.
It stressed that genuine transparency requires information to be “intelligible, accessible and verifiable.”
The group said its demand was particularly important because elected officials exercise constitutional powers on behalf of citizens and should therefore be willing to subject their credentials to the highest level of public scrutiny.
“If the documents are genuine, complete and verifiable, there should be no difficulty in presenting them clearly to the public,” CAETI said.
The organisation also urged political actors and residents of Kosofe to avoid turning the issue into a political battle, insisting that the focus should remain on facts and independent verification.
“Kosofe deserves clarity. Kosofe deserves transparency and accountability,” it declared.
CAETI consequently called on Oshinowo to publish clear copies of the credentials filed with INEC and give voters an opportunity to independently examine the documents before the 2027 electoral process gathers further momentum.