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Chicagogate: Nigerians return to court! *Move to stop Tinubu from 2027 polls
Nigerians seem unrelenting in ascertaining the true status of the educational qualification of President Bola Tinubu, going by a fresh petition before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), currently seeking that much.
Center for Reform and Public Advocacy (CFRPA), the Civil Society Organisation (CSO), which is pushing the new initiative, is asking the commission to provide the educational data with which the President secured clearance to contest the 2023 presidential election.
In a petition, dated June 19, by Kalu Agu, the group is specifically seeking INEC’s clarification on the authenticity or otherwise of the Chicago State University’s certificate President Tinubu included with his form.
Recalling how the President had claimed to have attended Government College Lagos in 1960 and graduated in May 1970, even though the school was established in 1974, the petitioners expressed concern that the primary and secondary school certificates being paraded used to secure admission to Chicago State University, might have been forged, hence the need for clarification by INEC.
Urging the INEC Joash Amupitan, himself a Professor of Law and a well-respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to use his wealth of experience and knowledge to resolve the lingering issue, they insisted that the clarity around the President’s eligibility, was central to his contest in the 2027 presidential election.
Stressing that INEC making the clarifications had become imperative, in view of the legal implications of forged certificates in relation to Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as Section 285(14), which envisaged the power of the Commission to disqualify candidates for election who are ineligible, they threatened to initiate an action against the commission should it fail to act accordingly.
The petition read: “We are a non-profit, pro-democracy, human rights, anti-corruption and public interest advocacy organisation in Nigeria. In line with our objectives, we respectfully wish to bring to your notice the fake Chicago State University certificate and forged National Youth Service Corps Discharge Certificate presented to the Commission by President Bola A. Tinubu to aid his qualification for the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
“The said certificates, which formed part of President Bola A. Tinubu’s INEC Form EC9, are hereby annexed and marked as ‘Exhibit INEC. It will be recalled that in 2023, an American court, in a discovery case — particularly In re: Application of Atiku Abubakar (No. 23 CV 05099), coram Honourable Nancy L. Maldonado — directed Chicago State University to release academic records of President Bola A. Tinubu to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“The said academic records are hereby annexed and marked as ‘Exhibit CSU’. Upon release of the said academic records, the following was discovered: that President Bola A. Tinubu: “Made false entries on his Chicago State University admission form, wherein he claimed that he attended Government College Lagos in 1960 and graduated in May 1970, when indeed Government College Lagos was established in 1974;
“Forged a University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate General Certificate of Education in 1970. Please see pages CSU 0022 and CSU 0024 of ‘Exhibit CSU’.
“It is on the basis of the foregoing that we respectfully write to you requesting a legal clarification of the effects of President Bola A. Tinubu’s certificate, obtained by fraud from Chicago State University, and his forged NYSC Discharge Certificate, on President Bola A. Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid.
“It is worthy of note that we have written to the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, requesting that the NYSC issue a disclaimer on the forged NYSC Discharge Certificate that President Bola A. Tinubu is parading as genuine.
“Attached are copies of the said letters, marked as ‘Exhibit Letters’. As a Professor of Law and a well-respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, it is imperative that you use your wealth of experience and knowledge to resolve this lingering issue surrounding the ineligibility of President Bola A. Tinubu to contest the 2027 presidential election, considering the legal implications of the above-named forged certificates he submitted to INEC in 2023, in relation to Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), as well as Section 285(14) of the said Constitution, which envisages the power of the Commission to disqualify candidates for election who are ineligible.
“This is a litmus test for you, to determine how neutral you will be in the conduct of future elections in Nigeria.
“TAKE NOTICE that, in the event you fail to make INEC’s legal position public on this request, we will initiate legal action to stop INEC from receiving and/or accepting the name of President Bola A. Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the APC, as he has no other academic certificate to present to INEC, since President Bola A. Tinubu does not have any primary or secondary school certificates.
“We are hopeful that you will heed our request and allow wise counsel to prevail in the circumstances. INEC is constitutionally and statutorily mandated to regulate the activities of political parties in Nigeria and conduct elections into elective offices, which includes accepting and/or granting access codes to political parties to upload candidates’ names into the INEC online portal.
“By virtue of Section 137(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), any candidate who presents a forged certificate to INEC is not qualified to contest for the office of President of Nigeria.”
Nothing outside the immediate resignation of his office will mitigate the havoc President Bola Tinubu, has caused Nigeria, Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), in the 2027 presidential election, said on Monday.
Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 polls hours after Kier Starmer, British Prime Minister announced he would be quitting office, urged Tinubu to follow the footstep, having performed more woefully than his UK counterpart.
Writing in his official X platform, the former governor wrote, lamented that the President had failed to improve the standard of living of the citizens, arguing that leaders who failed to listen to the heartbeat and voices of their citizens, had lost the right to remain in position.
Hear him: “This morning, I listened to the British Prime Minister’s speech announcing his planned resignation in July. As a keen observer of global politics, my primary interest lies in examining what successful nations do right and the structural factors that cause others to lag or struggle with governance and development.
“The Prime Minister’s planned resignation comes amid mounting public frustration over a stagnant economy, a worsening cost-of-living crisis, and a perceived failure to honour key campaign pledges.
“Looking inward in our dear country, we can recall our own situation. Before 2015, our President on several occasions championed the call for the then President Goodluck Jonathan to resign over economic hardship and insecurity affecting Nigerians.
“During the Chibok school kidnapping incident, he demanded the immediate resignation of President Jonathan, arguing that the government had failed in its most fundamental duty of protecting lives.
“During the 2023 election campaign, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made several promises, including improved electricity supply. He also challenged the electorate not to vote for him for a second term if he failed to deliver on those commitments—particularly in providing stable power, fighting corruption, and improving the welfare of Nigerians.
“At present, however, these conditions have worsened. Electricity supply remains unreliable, insecurity has intensified in many areas, including kidnappings, and economic hardship has deepened rather than eased. Similar concerns are reflected across other critical sectors such as security, infrastructure, transportation, and anti-corruption efforts, all of which have regressed. We are in the worst possible condition.
“I, therefore, join Nigerians of goodwill in calling for the resignation of the President over monumental failure in governance. Such a gesture would help enthrone a political culture rooted in accountability and responsibility, rather than further entrenching impunity. It would also send a powerful message that public office is a sacred trust, not an entitlement, and help build a society in which future leaders understand that failure carries consequences. Only by ending the culture of impunity can we secure a better future for the society our children will inherit in a New Nigeria that is possible.”
“Generally, it was a very bad day. At my polling booth, where I voted, there was massive rigging and the massive sale of votes, and it happened everywhere in the state,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), captured Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State and its outcome.
Dare Abejide, candidate of the party in the exercise, said hours after Biodun Oyebanji, the incumbent, who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Abejide, a guest on Sunday Politics, a public affairs programme on Channels Television told his host, on Sunday: “It merely shows that you don’t need to campaign anymore; all you need to do is keep your money for election day and buy votes. The government of the day has weaponised poverty, and that makes it so easy for them to buy votes. So, let’s get it clear.”
Faulting the process, Abejide added: “First, the election was a very bad one. Yesterday was a very bad day for democracy in the state. It was a day when democracy took flight from Ekiti State,” the two-time Secretary to the Government of Ekiti State said on the current affairs show.
“It was a day when the polling units, particularly my polling booth, became a political marketplace where votes were canvassed for, sold, and bought by politicians. It was a day the security agents abandoned their duties and took sides with the oppressor. It was a day when hungry people went and took money from the oppressors in exchange for their rights.
“Generally, it was a very bad day. At my polling booth, where I voted, there was massive rigging and the massive sale of votes, and it happened everywhere in the state. It merely shows that you don’t need to campaign anymore; all you need to do is keep your money for election day and buy votes. The government of the day has weaponised poverty, and that makes it so easy for them to buy votes. So, let’s get it clear.”
In the result released by INEC, Oyebanji, polled 319,224 votes to beat other contenders to beat Oluwole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to a second place with 40,543 votes, while Abejide scored 12,872 votes after the figures emanating from the 16 local government areas of the state were tallied.
Abejide, who accused the ruling APC of inducing voters with money and intimidating the opposition, told his host: “It was like a battleground. I suspect it was something that was simply fed into the computers. The options are many for me. One of them is to consult with my party members. We are still collecting results from all the polling units. We will analyse the results and take appropriate action.”
Except Nigerians find a way to arrest the practice of outright buying of the votes of electorates, nothing else will change the parlous state of affairs in Nigeria, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has warned.
Reacting against the backdrop of the outcome of last Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, Peter Obafemi, who captured the party’s total disenchantment, lamented that a situation in which security operatives who were supposed to arrest offenders were now helping them to commit the crime, left Nigeria no hope in electing credible leaders to change the situation.
Accusing the electoral officials of complicity in the crime, Obafemi, a guest on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, told his host that he personally witnessed policemen aiding those buying the votes of the people.
Hear him: “I think it was full of intimidation. Well, I will put it like this: in my own polling unit, I went to cast my vote; coming out, I was shocked. I saw someone with bagloads of money. The culprit is a member of one of these major parties and is being protected by the police.
“I am not alleging. I saw it in my own polling unit. The police and the INEC were very compromised in the conduct of the election. INEC must look into ways that they can help Nigerians for this general election [2027] that is coming up: how they can abort this act of vote-buying.”
Also stressing on other electoral malfeasances, Obafemi, who scored 179 votes in the poll, also talked about general intimidation in the lead-up to the exercise, stating how some of his campaign banners were pulled down.
INEC early Sunday declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the exercise, which was held in 16 local government areas of the South-West state.
He scored 319,224 votes to beat his opponents Oluwole Oluyede, or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 40,543 votes, while Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) polled 12,872 votes to come third.
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