Just as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State on Wednesday fixed December 5 for the court ordered re-run election for the Senate seat previously occupied by Iyiola Omisore of the PDP, a new controversy has surfaced over the authenticity and veracity of Omisore’s degree.
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Omisore parades a Master’s degree in Building Services Engineering Management, which he obtained from Brunel University in the United Kingdom in July 2004, according to an academic report obtained by Saharareporters and signed by Dr. R H M Wakelin, the Chairman of the Board of Examiners in the course.
The course description on Brunel website shows the “Building Services Engineering Management MSc at the institution to be a 3-5 years self study without attendance course,” permitting the student to "follow a structured programme of self-study at home or at work."
If this is how Omisore obtained his M.Sc degree in 2004, that would mean he was undertaking the course while in prison over the murder of the former Oyo State Governor and later Attorney-General of Nigeria, Bola Ige, in Ibadan. That assassination has never been solved.
An additional question would be how he was able to take his examinations. The structure of the Brunel University self-study programme states that while students can study at their own pace using a study pack comprising text books and CD-ROMs, they have to take annual examinations, in May. Once registered, a student can take his examinations in his country of residence. The university implements the process through "an extensive network of organisations (Universities, Colleges and British Council Offices) throughout the world" who provide invigilation, the cost of which is paid by the student. It is unclear whether such services are made available in the context of incarceration, as Omisore was in 2004, and how.
Efforts to have the former senator speak about his MSc degree have been difficult, but Stephanie Berke, who is a Clerical Officer in the Examinations and Conferment’s section of the Brunel University schools’ registry, responded to our inquiry, asking that we obtain Omisore’s consent to enable them release his academic records to us.
Today, Omisore refused to grant that consent. He told Saharareporters to wait until next week upon his arrival in Abuja to produce a copy of the certificate and the roll call of graduands.
He refused to clarify the pertinent issues relating to when he took the course and how he was able to continue while he was in detention. Saharareporters also wanted to know specifically when he completed the study, whether he used the method of self-study or attended classes, but he was non-committal. About the completion date, he gave us 2005, but the academic record clearly shows 2004.
It would be recalled that on October 30, 2009, the Appeal Court, sitting in Ibadan, removed Omisore from the Nigerian senate, following the successful the petition filed by Action Congress (AC) candidate, Jide Omoworare.
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