Essential Ndubuisi
In a recent development, President Bola Tinubu has attributed discrepancies in his certificate issued by Chicago State University to a clerical error. The President’s legal representatives, Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, have put forth the explanation that the discrepancy in the date stated on his newly-issued certificate was a result of a mistake made by an unnamed clerk at the university. This error, they claim, inadvertently created an “appearance of differences.”
This clarification comes as part of their response to a lawsuit initiated by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is seeking the release of President Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University.
A U.S. court had set a deadline of August 23 for President Tinubu to provide a formal submission explaining why his academic records should not be disclosed to the former vice president.
President Tinubu maintains that he holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Chicago State University. However, Atiku Abubakar, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the February presidential election, has raised allegations of forgery against President Tinubu’s academic credentials.
The legal representatives of the President clarified, “Unfortunately, in responding to the illegal and invalid subpoena, CSU made several errors.” They revealed that Chicago State University issued a fresh diploma for Bola A. Tinubu but inadvertently recorded the date of graduation as June 27, 1979, instead of the correct date, which is June 22, 1979.
The legal team attributed the discrepancies not only to the date but also to factors such as changes in the CSU logo, font on the diploma, and shifts in leadership within the university that signed the diploma. These unintentional changes collectively led to the apparent disparities between the diploma initially issued and the one provided in response to the 2022 subpoena.
In addition to addressing the date discrepancy, the former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, is seeking access to the credentials submitted by President Tinubu to Chicago State University when he applied for admission.
As the legal proceedings continue, the clarification offered by President Tinubu’s legal representatives aims to shed light on the nature of the inconsistencies and provide context to the allegations raised in the ongoing lawsuit.
