Paul Ibe, media aide to the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to explain his immigration status in the United States while working to finance his education.
Ibe made the demand in a statement shared on social media on Thursday, following Tinubu’s recent account that he drove a taxi and took up other jobs in the US to pay for his education.
Questioning the account, Ibe asked whether Tinubu worked as an ordinary taxi driver or a courier, and under what immigration status he undertook the jobs.
He argued that if the President was in the US on an F-1 student visa, his claimed employment history raised questions about whether he obtained the necessary authorisation.
“Under US immigration rules, F-1 students generally require specific authorisation to undertake off-campus employment,” Ibe wrote.
He therefore asked Tinubu to disclose the type of visa he held, whether he was authorised to work and when he undertook the jobs he had mentioned.
“These are legitimate questions arising from the President’s own account,” Ibe said, insisting that the President’s immigration and employment history should be open to public scrutiny.
Ibe also revisited the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s years in Chicago, including allegations of links to heroin trafficking and the forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States.
He argued that the President’s latest account of how he funded his education had reopened questions about his past that required verifiable explanations.
“Tinubu should clarify his immigration status, employment history and the circumstances under which he financed his American education,” he said.
Ibe added that Nigerians deserved clear answers rather than what he described as another instalment in the controversy surrounding the President’s years in Chicago.
Tinubu had recently recounted how he drove a taxi and worked different jobs in the United States to raise money for his education, saying the experience shaped his belief in expanding educational opportunities for Nigerian children.
