President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Afolabi, has provided an explanation for the apparent discrepancy on Tinubu’s academic records, particularly the “F” on his certificate, during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today. Afolabi attributed the mixup to a clerical error at Chicago State University.
The issue arose as a result of a case filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, challenging Tinubu’s victory in the election. The District Court, Northern Illinois, recently ordered Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s academic records to Atiku.
Afolabi clarified that the transcript provided by Southwest College indicated “F,” but all other particulars matched President Bola Tinubu’s information. According to Afolabi, the registrar explained that the person applying for the school ticked the box for a male, not a female. He further noted that Dr. West Brown, the registrar, mentioned that such mixups were not unusual in universities.
Regarding discrepancies in signatures on the certificate, Afolabi explained that certificates were not issued at the time of graduation; one had to apply for them. The person who issued the certificate submitted to INEC might not have been at the university in 1979.
In response, Segun Sowunmi, a former spokesperson for Atiku, expressed doubts about whether Tinubu attended Chicago State University. Sowunmi pointed out that there are uncertainties surrounding the certificate, particularly the security number linked to a female name. The issue raised questions about Tinubu’s attendance at the university.
