Despite the presidential election petition tribunal—PEPT, affirming his victory in the last election, the storm could be said not to be over for President Bola Tinubu as Chicago State University—CSU, has denied knowledge of the certificate submitted by him to the Independent Electoral Commission—INEC, to run for the country’s top job.
The denial is coming after the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday adjourned ruling on a subpoena application for Bola Tinubu’s records from the institution.
Before Judge Jeffrey Gilbert in Chicago, CSU lawyer, Michael Hayes squarely stated that the school was not in a position to verify Mr Tinubu’s certificate as either fake or genuine, a position which clearly contradicts the school’s previous statement that it issued a certificate to the Nigerian leader after he graduated in 1979.
“Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions,” Mr Hayes said at the hearing in Chicago in the lawsuit brought by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who is currently challenging Tinubu’s victory in the last election.
The lawyer vehemently maintained that the school’s administrators if queried under oath, won’t be able to authenticate Mr Tinubu’s certificate because they “just don’t know” where he obtained it or how.
Though, Hayes was responding to the judge’s inquiry into the school’s ability to confirm under oath that Mr Tinubu was issued the certificate he tendered to INEC as part of the requirement by the Electoral Act.
Mr Hayes insisted that CSU records showed Mr Tinubu indeed attended the school, but also admitted there were several discrepancies that the school’s management won’t be able to clarify under oath.
Meanwhile, those contradictions include the June 22, 1977, date that Mr Tinubu’s certificate carried, as well as the school’s president at the time the certificate was obtained and typographical, font and header errors on the document.
Recall that on June 17, 2022, President Tinubu submitted a certificate to INEC that was said to have been issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. But Ms Daniel only arrived at CSU in 1998 from Hampton University, 19 years after Mr Tinubu was said to have graduated.
She then left the institution in 2008 following a case of financial misappropriation.
However, the obvious contradictions, among others, stirred Mr Abubakar to file the suit to compel CSU to produce records relating to Mr Tinubu and make its top officials available for deposition to certify the produced records, according to the Nigerian opposition leader’s lawyers.
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