The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why the primary and secondary school certificates of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were not among the documents published as part of the credentials of presidential candidates for the 2027 general election.
The commission said it only displayed documents submitted to it by the candidates and did not have the power to demand additional credentials from them or alter the information contained in their submissions.
INEC recently commenced the public display of the personal particulars and academic credentials submitted by presidential candidates.
The exercise is intended to give Nigerians an opportunity to examine the documents and raise objections where they believe there are grounds to do so.
However, Tinubu’s published documents did not include certificates showing the primary and secondary schools he attended.
An official of the electoral commission, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, explained that INEC’s responsibility was to publish the documents presented by candidates rather than investigate why a particular document was not submitted.
“We only published what was submitted to the commission. We don’t have any authority to question those ones. I mean, our own is just to publish so that anybody who has an objection can raise issues with what we’ve published,” the official said.
Moreover, the latest petition was filed by the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy through lawyers led by Kalu Agu.
The group asked the electoral commission to clarify its position on allegations surrounding certificates attributed to the President.
Among other claims, the petitioners alleged that Tinubu did not provide details of his primary and secondary education in the relevant electoral documents.
They also raised allegations concerning the Chicago State University degree certificate and NYSC discharge certificate attributed to the President.
The group asked INEC to explain the legal implications of the allegations before the 2027 election.
In its petition, the organisation warned that it could approach the courts if INEC failed to make its position public.
Politics Nigeria recalls that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, on December 5, 2022, directly addressed the controversy surrounding his Chicago State University certificate and his educational records.
Speaking at Chatham House in London while campaigning for the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu said he had received an original replacement degree certificate from the American university.
Tinubu said his university record was consistent and insisted that Chicago State University had attested to his graduation.
“I’ve had a very good record in life. My record is consistent in the university they questioned. They’ve now confessed that they wasted their money and their time. The record is there, and the transcript is there showing March 1952,” he said.
He then addressed the certificate directly, saying, “Chicago State University where I graduated has attested to that. Now, I can announce that I have received my original replacement degree certificate from them.”
The controversy later intensified after Atiku Abubakar sought access to Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University as part of his legal challenge to the 2023 election.
In October 2023, CSU Registrar Caleb Westberg gave a deposition in the United States concerning Tinubu’s academic records.
The university said it could not locate a copy of the original 1979 diploma prepared for Tinubu and explained that it did not ordinarily keep copies of student diplomas.
The university nevertheless provided academic records showing that a student named Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended the institution and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1979.
Tinubu’s camp maintained that the university records confirmed his identity and graduation.
However, His opponents continued to raise questions about the diploma and other documents.
