Abuja: By Political Editor
Published, Saturday, June 25, 2022
SEEMINGLY GENIUS BOLA TINUBU, the ruling All Progressives Congress' presidential candidate, has informed the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC that he did not attend primary and secondary schools.
The former Lagos governor and APC national leader, who claimed to have two degrees from two American universities, also claimed that the two degrees had been stolen by unknown soldiers during the 1990s military junta.
Mr Tinubu made the revelations in an affidavit submitted to the electoral office as part of his eligibility filings for the 2023 presidential elections.
The APC presidential flag bearer did not fill the columns for his primary and secondary education in the documents released on Friday. However, he claimed to have received a degree in business and administration in 1979, presumably referring to his previous claims of attending Chicago State University.
The electoral law requires candidates to submit their personal credentials, which will be made public ahead of the elections.
Mr Tinubu's latest claims appear to contradict his previous election submissions, particularly in 1999 and 2003, when he ran for governor of Lagos State. He claimed to have attended primary and secondary school both times.
He stated that he attended St Paul Children's Home School in Ibadan from 1958 to 1964, and Government College in Ibadan from 1965 to 1968.
The Jagaban of Borgu stated that he attended Richard Daley College in Chicago from 1969 to 1971 after graduating from Ibadan.
He finally admitted to attending both Chicago State University and the University of Chicago.
Mr Tinubu was admitted to Chicago State University and graduated with a degree in business and administration on June 22, 1979.
A prominent Nigerian lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, however, challenged all of the submissions as fraudulent.
Mr Fawehinmi, 1938-2009, took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which dismissed it on technical grounds rather than on the merits.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, an Abuja-based political activist, said he would challenge Mr Tinubu's filings in court, accusing him of perjury.
Mr Tinubu "commits perjury by abandoning his earlier claim of attending primary school," Mr Ugochinyere said in a statement. His "new forms contradict his 2007 affidavit that he has primary and secondary school education."
Mr Tinubu's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the alleged discrepancies in his submissions to the electoral commission.
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