Atiku to hold World Press Conference after Chicago State University disowned certificate Tinubu presented to INEC

Atiku Abubakar will hold a World Press Conference today to address Nigerians after the certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to INEC was disowned by Chicago State University (CSU). 

Recall that Atiku, the People’s Democratic Party presidential flag bearer in the 2023 election, had requested Tinubu’s academic records from CSU to compare them with the one presented by Tinubu to INEC for the 2023 presidential election. 

The result provided by CSU confirmed that Bola Tinubu was a student of the school, entering in 1977 and graduating in 1979. 

However, the results released raised several questions. 

Some pointed out that Tinubu claimed in the document that he graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970 but the school was founded in 1974. 

Others pointed out that the gender listed in the records released by CSU is female. 

Also, discrepancies in the certificate Tinubu presented to INEC and the one CSU released were pointed out. (read here). 

Then, at a deposition of school officials on Tuesday, Oct. 3, in Chicago, Caleb Westberg, the registrar at Chicago State University, said Mr Tinubu’s certificate, dated June 22, 1979, and tendered to INEC on June 17, 2022, is not a document of the university. 

He added that the certificate was not issued by the school and its administrators could, therefore, not be able to authenticate its source.  

Mr Westberg, CSU’s registrar since November 2020, was also reported to have said, during the deposition that lasted about 5.5 hours, that Mr Tinubu did not apply for a replacement certificate, nor was he ever issued one.

Weighing in on the discrepancy, Farooq Kperogi, a US-based Professor, who analysed the documents said while some were authentic, he believed part of it was forged.

Kperogi wrote: “Although he did legitimately graduate from Chicago State University in 1979, he obviously lost his certificate and, instead of applying for a replacement, decided to forge it..

“That strikes me as mysterious self-harm. It costs only $26 to get a replacement diploma from CSU. But it takes between eight and 10 weeks to receive it after filling out the Diploma Replacement Order Form.

“My guess is that, in the typical last-minute, fire-brigade approach to things among Nigerian elites, Tinubu didn’t plan ahead and didn’t have enough time to apply for his replacement diploma from CSU to meet INEC’s deadline and decided to visit Lagos’ infamous “Oluwole” for a counterfeit replacement.”

Reacting to the forgery accusation, President Tinubu’s media aide, Temitope Ajayi, argued on Wednesday, Oct. 4, that CSU affirmed under oath that Tinubu attended and graduated from the institution and that the school does not handle replacements for lost certificates.

The presidential media aide wrote on X: “We should be clear.

“In the deposition made by the Chicago State University, there was nowhere the University said the certificate presented to INEC by President Tinubu is fake. The University insisted under oath that President Tinubu graduated with honours and even at that, replacements for lost certificates are done by vendors not the University. The claim that President Tinubu submitted fake certificate to INEC does not make sense. A man can not forge the academic records he possesses. You can only forge what you don’t have.”

PDP Chieftain, Dele Momodu, said Atiku will address the nation to discuss the “fake certificate” by 3pm today, October 5.