Academic Record Controversy: Tinubu Points Finger at Clerk in Certificate Irregularities

President Bola Tinubu has accused a clerk at Chicago State University of being responsible for the discrepancies in his certificate, which has been reprinted with irregularities. Court documents viewed by Peoples Gazette reveal that Mr. Tinubu's statement was filed as part of his argument against the release of his academic records to his political opponent, Atiku Abubakar.

Mr. Tinubu's counsel filed the statement on August 23 in response to a directive by Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. The judge had given Mr. Tinubu until August 23 to explain why his academic records at CSU should not be released to Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku Abubakar had requested court approval to subpoena Mr. Tinubu's CSU files to address inconsistencies in his background, including records suggesting a female student named Bola Tinubu was admitted in the 1970s. The Nigerian president claims he was born in 1952, while his birth year has been listed as 1954 in some instances.

Mr. Tinubu's lawyers argued that the subpoena for his records was "illegal," but admitted that the CSU documents had been mistakenly altered by an unnamed clerk, causing errors in the graduation date and other details. They stated that changes in signatures, logos, fonts, and leadership at CSU created the appearance of discrepancies.

Atiku Abubakar's legal team plans to respond to Mr. Tinubu's argument that the documents should not be sought due to their inadmissibility in the ongoing Nigerian election petitions. The court is expected to deliver its judgment on or before September 21, following the presidential election held on February 25.