By Olusegun Olanrewaju (Lagos), and David Lawani (Abuja)
Following the ongoing certificate saga rocking the camps of President Bola Tinubu and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has said his academic records are open for public scrutiny.
Fielding questions from journalists yesterday in Abuja, Obi said, “I will make sure I circulate my CV (Curriculum Vitae) before leaving (the press conference), and I can claim to be an alumnus of some of those schools I went to for training among which include the Lagos Business School, Oxford University, Cambridge, George Business School.
“So, these are no longer private to me. All my programmes are documented and are open for verification.”
The former governor of Anambra State said that having occupied the highest political office in the country, President Tinubu no longer has a right to any privacy regarding his identity.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had requested the release of President Tinubu’s certificate from the Chicago State University (CSU) in the USA over the suspicion that the certificate the former Lagos State governor submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may not be authentic.
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*They now see all Nigerians as fraudsters, says LP presidential candidate
But the LP presidential candidate, Obi, has stated that the controversy over the President’s certificate issue has further worsened Nigeria’s “less than glorious image” internationally.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, he noted that the certificate saga has affected the average Nigerian within and outside the country.
According to Obi, “To the outsiders, the entire Chicago University matter, as well as Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s many other lingering identity, question marks have further worsened Nigeria’s less than glorious image internationally.
“Uninformed outsiders now see every Nigerian as a fraudster, certificate forger, and identity thief. The controversy is unnecessary, and the implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided.”
Atiku had secured the release of Tinubu’s education records from Chicago through a court subpoena.
The released records, which came first on October 3, showed that Tinubu’s 1979 CSU certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was different from samples of the certificates the university issued to students that same year.
But the school admitted that Tinubu was, indeed, a student of the university.
*’Obi has jumped on tailboard of Atiku’s bandwagon to satisfy his insatiable thirst’
Following Obi’s international press conference yesterday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday described Obi’s comments at the press conference as having proceeded from “a befuddled mind jolted out of deep slumber.”
It said the LP presidential candidate hugged a podium to echo a script authored by Atiku Abubakar, “his senior partner and co-traveller on a dark ignominious alley to nowhere”.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the press conference saw Obi “blather about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s identity and academic record,” adding that it is like “a broken voice note of Atiku Abubakar, cutting a pitiful profile as though forced to read a prepared statement by his unimaginative handlers, and mendacious associates in the PDP.”
The APC spokesman said despite the fact that Obi was unwilling to miss out on the orchestrated campaign of calumny against President Tinubu over his certificate from the Chicago State University, “Obi jumped on the tailboard of Atiku’s bandwagon to satisfy his uncanny and insatiable thirst for cheap media attention, long after his Labour Party had dissociated itself from a bogus call to action by the former Vice President.”
According to the statement, “In his drivel, Peter Obi demanded that the president reintroduce himself to Nigerians, as though the 8.9 million Nigerians who voted for him last February were all groggy when they made their free democratic choice.
“Mr Obi must know that President Tinubu does not need a re-introduction. He does not have any identity problem, except the one contrived by the Atikus and Obis of our political firmament.
“The 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him into office were, and remain, aware of his outstanding record and accomplishments as a defender of democracy, freedom, social and economic justice for over three decades. Nigerians know President Tinubu as a thoroughbred professional and former auditor and treasurer of Mobil Nigeria, now ExxonMobil.
“Nigerians know the President as a former Senator of the Federal Republic where he served as Chairman of the influential Finance and Appropriations Committee.
“They know him as a former Governor of Lagos State who designed and paved the pathway to the growth and prosperity of present-day Lagos, the 5th largest economy in Africa,” he said.
The party NPS noted further that Nigerians know who they voted for as the 16th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria adding that they voted for him with full faith and confidence that his track record and wide competencies would help in the re-engineering of the country’s economy for the good of the greatest number of Nigerians.
“In marked contrast, Nigerians have flatly and serially rejected Atiku Abubakar, and denied Peter Obi’s presidential bid in the last election.
“Beyond regaling Nigerians with false and embarrassing statistics for which he has gained notoriety, Peter Obi cannot be said to be known for any outstanding performance as governor of Anambra State for eight years with no worthy legacy standing to his name.
“As for President Tinubu’s academic record at the Chicago State University, the facts are clear and settled except for those politically jaundiced by the trauma of electoral defeat.
“The Chicago State University has unequivocally stated over and over again, and in a deposition, under oath, by the Registrar, Caleb Westberg that President Tinubu attended the school and graduated with Honours.
“Nigerians are now familiar with the stellar academic performance of President Tinubu as evidenced by his transcript as released by the CSU with 18As, 10Bs, and 3Cs grades.
“It is disturbing and utterly contemptuous of the courts of our land for the duo of Atiku and Obi to rail and pollute the public space with the very same issues that they have submitted to the court for adjudication. They have continued to perpetrate public deception, operating, simultaneously, as accusers and judges in their base cause.
“We condemn the sordid and disgraceful attempt by Obi, Atiku, and their cheerleaders to use the mainstream and social media to intimidate the judiciary, incite the public to violence, disparage Justices of the Appeal and Supreme Court, and we urge all well-meaning Nigerians to condemn this anti-democratic and irresponsible conduct of both political naggers.
“For the record, our team of lawyers is advised to explore all available judicial mechanisms towards bringing Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar to justice for their ceaseless contemptuous conduct.
“In our democracy, the office of the President is not filled by intimidation, blackmail, or reckless self-help. It is filled by the people, by their lawful votes at the polls just as they did on February 25, 2023, when they elected Bola Tinubu as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Morka stated.
