The Presidency has reiterated that the academic certificate submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is authentic and not forged. Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, asserted that the Chicago State University confirmed the legitimacy of the certificate.
Ajayi explained that the university, under oath, affirmed that Tinubu attended and graduated with honors from the institution. Furthermore, the university clarified that the replacement of lost certificates is handled by vendors, not the university itself.
Responding to allegations of forgery, Ajayi emphasized that the claim that Tinubu submitted a fake certificate to INEC is baseless. He argued that a person cannot forge academic records they already possess, adding that such claims lack credibility.
The controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic records emerged following a petition by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar. Atiku had requested Tinubu’s academic documents to support his allegation of forgery. The academic records were released by the Chicago State University as per a court order. Despite the allegations, the presidential election court dismissed the claims of forgery in the suit filed by Atiku challenging Tinubu’s election.
