PDP says Chicago State University agrees to release Tinubu’s academic records

Chicago State University (CSU) in the State of Illinois, United States, has reportedly agreed to release the academic records of Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu.

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who is challenging the emergence of President Bola Tinubu, as winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election, had written to the school to provide proof that Tinubu indeed graduated from the institution.

President Tinubu’s academic qualification has been in doubt for many years. Some Nigerians claim he never went to the Chicago state university. However, the university has maintained that he was an undergraduate from August 1977 through June 1979 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business and Administration with honours on June 22, 1979.

Atiku had approached the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking to have access to Tinubu’s educational records at the Chicago State University,

In a tweet posted on Thursday, August 24, the PDP claimed that the institution has agreed to tender the academic records of President Tinubu in court.

“This is now official. The Chicago State University in the United States of America, in response to the application filed by the @OfficialPDPNig and its  Presidential Candidate in the February 25, 2023 Election, @Atiku has agreed to release the credentials of Bola A. Tinubu.

“Nigerians and members of the international community are eagerly waiting for this information as this will form greater part of the decision making process of the petition before the court.” the tweet reads

In the document shared by the PDP on Twitter on Thursday, the university maintained that President Tinubu is a Chicago State University graduate and that the institution was unaware of the litigations against President Tinubu.

The University added that it does not “understand” why Tinubu’s academic records “could possibly have any bearing on a 2023 election challenge in a foreign country”. It said once an order is granted by a court in the United States (US), Tinubu’s limited academic record would be made public.

But, we want to say that, reading the Chicago State University’s response in the case, it is difficult to go with the conclusion of PDP that the University has agreed to release Tinubu’s academic records to Atiku. What the University is rather saying is that it is deferring all rights to show cause to Tinubu.

See the CSU’s response below: