Reactions trail Tinubu’s missing academic certificates

Many Nigerians have continued to react to the claims by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, that his academic certificates were stolen by unknown persons while he was on self exile from 1994 to 1999.

Tinubu said this in his sworn affidavit submitted alongside his nomination forms to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2023 general election.

It was gathered that the former governor of Lagos State skipped information on his primary and secondary education in the INEC form.

Tinubu, a two-term former governor of Lagos State (1999-2007), however, said he attended University of Chicago, United States, between 1972 and 1976, where he obtained B.Sc in Economics.

The APC presidential standard-bearer added that he had B.Sc in Business and Administration, as well as certificate in Public Account.

He stated: “I went on self exile from October 1994 to October 1999 (and) when I returned and discovered that my property including all the documents relating to my qualification and my certificates in respect of paragraph 3 above were looted by unknown persons.”

Tinubu’s latest claims, however, contradicted his previous election submissions when he contested and won the Lagos State governorship election in 1999.

He had claimed that he attended St Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, Oyo State, between 1958 and 1964; while his secondary education was at Government College Ibadan (GCI) between 1965 and 1968.

However, scores of Nigerians, on Saturday, took to the microblogging site, Twitter, and expressed concern on the missing academic certificates of the APC presidential candidate.

Below are some of the reactions on Twitter:

@mrfestusogun said: “Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s controversial credentials cannot be challenged in court by ordinary citizens or NGOs except by his fellow aspirants who participated in the APC Presidential primaries. This is in line with Sections 29(5) and 84(14) of the Electoral Act, 2022.”

READ ALSO: Tinubu: I resorted to prayers when I was almost fed up

@AfamDeluxo tweeted: “Bola Ahmed Tinubu resigned from ExxonMobil Mobil when he got the hint that they were about to do background checks on all managers.

“Everything about him is fake. This FBI document in 2011 said he didn’t go to any Chicago State University.”

@femiaribisala stated: “I wrote in 2014 that Tinubu’s affidavit that he attended Government College Ibadan (GCI) between 1965 and 1968 is false.

“I was in GCI from 1962-1968, and Tinubu was not there. Tinubu now tells INEC he did not go to primary or secondary school. This means he committed perjury.”

@renoomokri said: “Bola Tinubu, where are your primary and secondary school certificates? How could you have been accepted to university without them?

“Tell us the names of your schools so we can track your classmates. We don’t want another Buhari without certificate! Enough is enough!”

@ENIBOY stated: “It’s easy to verify if Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended Chicago State University. Just go to website of the school: csu.edu.

“Get email of the records office.Send an inquiry. It’s free. You don’t even need to be a journalist. This is for those who genuinely seek the truth.”

@Benue_Parrot tweeted: “So because Soldiers invaded Tinubu’s house and stole his certificates, he is now threatening to send we the Youths into the Army and feed us agbado and cassava as punishment. Grandpa, no be we steal your childhood memories ooo. You are bullying us.”

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in his nomination forms, presented the Master’s degree he obtained in 2021, as his highest educational qualification.

 

The Star