“We can’t confirm Tinubu’s certificate ” Chicago Varsity tells court
The controversies around the qualifications and certificates of President Bola Tinubu are yet to subside. The Chicago State University has said that it couldn’t confirm the certificate that the president submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Mr. Atiku Abubakar, the first runnerup in the race to the presidential villa has approached the court in the United States to force the Chicago State University to confirm the certificate. The ex vice president, who represented the People’s Democratic Party in the election wants the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Nigeria to declare Tinubu unqualified for the race.
He dragged the university to court. Prior to the suit that Atiku Abubakar filed in the United States, the university had confirmed that Bola Tinubu was a student of the school and that he graduated in 1979.
At the sitting of the court today, the university talked through its counsel, Michael Hayes, the school couldn’t answer whether the Nigeria president obtained a Diploma or he forged the certificate.
While addressing the judge, Jeffrey Gilbert, the lawyer said “Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions,” Hayes said at the hearing in Chicago that began at about 1:30pm and lasted several hours in the lawsuit brought by Atiku Abubakar, Tinubu’s main challenger during the February 25 presidential election.
Mr. Hayes further said, So, that deposition is compiled with my client here and the issue is; was the June 22nd 1997 diploma that President Tinubu submitted as evidence in Nigeria and offered to the election agency there.. Is that authentic? My client can say we don’t know and we do not have his actual diploma to compare it to what we don’t have; whatever diploma issued in 1997 we can certainly verify the team information on that diploma and the date of his graduation which by the way is on his transcript that is in the public proceedings already.”
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