Former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili has said President Tinubu could have spared Nigerians the embarrassment of having to answer questions about his academic qualifications by proactively requesting Chicago State University to voluntarily disclose his academic records.
Ezekwesili made these remarks while emphasizing the need for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s electoral and judicial systems. In a tweet, she expressed her thoughts, saying, “How much easier it would have been for Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to save the country and its people from the embarrassment of this Chicago University court case by promptly and voluntarily requesting the institution to release his academic credentials.”
The Herald recalls that Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party had taken legal action in the United States, seeking a court order mandating Chicago State University to release President Bola Tinubu’s academic credentials. This legal move was part of Atiku’s effort to challenge Tinubu’s presidency at the Supreme Court.
Over the weekend, the court ruled in favour of Atiku, compelling Chicago State University to promptly release the documents necessary for Atiku to meet the filing deadline at the Supreme Court. However, the release of the documents sparked controversy due to apparent inconsistencies between the certificate submitted by President Tinubu and the one released by the university.
Following an unfavourable outcome at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Atiku and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, have now turned to the Supreme Court as they seek to overturn the election results that led to Tinubu’s emergence as the President of Nigeria.