The Senator representing Taraba South, David Jimkuta, is facing a petition seeking his disqualification from the 2027 senatorial election over an allegation that he submitted forged National Examinations Council certificates to the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The petition was filed by retired Major General Adamu Ibrahim, who contested the APC senatorial primary against Jimkuta.
In the petition dated September 21 and addressed to the APC National Chairman, Ibrahim alleged that the senator submitted forged examination certificates and made false declarations in documents accompanying his nomination.
He claimed that the certificates were attached to Jimkuta’s declaration of interest and nomination forms as evidence of his academic qualification to contest the 2027 election.
Jimkuta, who is the incumbent senator for Taraba South, has yet to be shown by the petition to have been found guilty of certificate forgery.
Meanwhile, former classmates of the senator have disputed the aspect of the allegation concerning his attendance and graduation from Government Secondary School, Wukari.
Members of the school’s 2000 graduating set said they returned to the institution and checked available records after learning of the petition.
One of the former classmates, Haruna Magaji, said Jimkuta’s name appeared as number 98 on the list of students in the 2000 graduating set.
According to Magaji, the classmates also confirmed that Jimkuta graduated with them in 2000 and that their set was the first graduating class of the school to sit for the NECO examination.
Other members of the set named in reports of the briefing in Jalingo include Zakaria Luka, Emmanuel Audu, Manasseh Wunuji and Habibu Isyaka.
However, the classmates’ confirmation that Jimkuta attended and graduated from the school does not, on its own, establish the authenticity of the particular NECO certificate submitted to the APC or INEC.
Verification by the school and NECO would be required to determine whether the certificate in question is genuine.
The controversy has also prompted calls for the petitioner to provide evidence backing the allegation.
An associate of Jimkuta, Obadiah Orobo, challenged Ibrahim to substantiate the claim, arguing that the relevant authorities should be allowed to establish the facts.
Orobo called on the school and NECO to clarify the matter, stressing that the allegation should not be treated as a political verdict without supporting evidence.
“If there is evidence that Senator Jimkuta forged any certificate, let that evidence be presented to the appropriate authorities,” he said.
The controversy comes as Jimkuta prepares for the 2027 general election after securing the APC ticket to contest the Taraba South senatorial seat.
The senator is listed by INEC as the APC candidate for the constituency.
