Records Of Tinubu: PDP Youth Leader, Atiku's Aide Take On APC

On Thursday, Timothy Osadolor, a PDP youth leader, and Paul Ibe, the media advisor for the Peoples Democratic Party's presidential candidate, criticized the All Progressives Congress for President Bola Tinubu's academic achievements.

In the current action brought by Atiku before a US court, Ibe charged the party with "abandoning the President."

The PDP flagbearer had asked the court for permission to subpoena Tinubu's files stored at Chicago State University because he believed the records would explain alleged discrepancies in his background, including records indicating that the CSU may have admitted a female student in the 1970s with the name Bola Tinubu who was born on March 29, 1954.

The errors on the certificate the university had given him, according to Tinubu, were the result of a clerical error.

Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, Tinubu's attorneys, said in court documents that an unnamed university clerk misread the date written on his freshly issued certificate, giving "the appearance of differences."

The accusation is in retaliation to Atiku's lawsuit for the university to release Tinubu's academic records.

The court had given Tinubu till August 23 to submit a formal filing outlining why the former vice president's records should not be made available to him.

According to the President, he has a bachelor of science in business administration from the CSU. However, Tinubu's rival in the 2023 presidential race stated that his academic credentials were falsified.

The President's statement was submitted on August 23 by his attorney as part of his presentation before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, according to Peoples Gazette.

The former governor of Lagos State has been given until August 23 to provide justifications for keeping his CSU academic records private from his political rival.

Bala Ibrahim, the APC's director of publicity, commented on the situation and said that the party in power had no issues with the PDP candidate's campaign as long as it was conducted according to the rules.

"I don't know what their law says about that," he replied, referring to Chicago State University's assertion that Atiku must appear in court. However, I am aware that the legislation in Nigeria protects people's right to information freedom and their ability to access information, particularly material that belongs in the public domain. I'm not aware of the US position or what the law is in that country.

But as long as he doesn't approach it improperly, Atiku has the right to request information about his opponent. Those who are knowledgeable about the law can best respond to the question of what is the incorrect approach.

The APC has abandoned Tinubu, according to Ibe, who spoke with him in an interview, "owing to the litany of controversies surrounding him."

We are not shocked that the party claimed they cannot have disagreements with us, Ibe said. This is a sign that they have given up on him. We are referring to a man whose identification is clouded in doubt. But in all honesty, who won't be exhausted?

"The man is surrounded by controversy in every aspect. Although he never set foot inside Government College, Ibadan, he falsely claimed to have attended. Tinubu made up a primary school that doesn't exist.

"Now, he claims that a clerical error occurred in his academic records at the 156-year-old Chicago State University. You are carrying a phony certificate if it contains an error. He is therefore acknowledging that his certificate is a forgery.

He continued by saying that it is illogical for Tinubu to argue that the assault on democratic elements by Gen. Sani Abacha caused him to lose some of his certifications.

The PDP's National Executive Committee member and a steadfast supporter of Atiku, Osadolor, also spoke out and said the APC director of publicity should be commended for his position.

He is aware of the truth, yet he prefers not to be quoted. Their principal is aware of the facts, but his academic records are mysterious. But he chose to claim he won't enter disputes with Atiku since doing so would not be comfortable for him, he said.