Paul Ibe: Tinubu’s aides twisting facts about his academic records

Paul Ibe, media adviser to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, says President Bola Tinubu’s aides are twisting facts about his academic records.

There has been controversy over a certificate Tinubu claimed he obtained from the Chicago State University (CSU) after graduating from the institution.

Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, is seeking to disqualify Tinubu as president on the grounds that he forged his academic certificates.

The university released Tinubu’s academic records after Abubakar filed a case in the US, requesting the documents.

The former vice-president has since filed a motion seeking to introduce the president’s records as new evidence following his appeal of the presidential election petitions tribunal verdict that affirmed Tinubu’s victory in February.

In a statement on Sunday, Ibe who did not name the president’s aides said are trying to confuse Nigerians about the issue.

“Since Tuesday last week when the deposition regarding President Bola Tinubu’s educational qualifications came to the fore in the United States, there have been several attempts to twist the facts of the matter, which deliberately aim to confuse the mind of the public concerning the matter,” the statement reads.

“Some media aides to the president have come out openly to push back on the narrative.

“Anyone who has taken time to do a thorough reading of the deposition will come to the unambiguous conclusion that the footprints of Tinubu’s odyssey as far as the CSU documents are concerned is filled with profound forgeries and abuse of administrative due process.

“President Tinubu’s supporters and spin doctors will want to force the narrative of, at least, ‘Tinubu graduated from the CSU’ down our throats, even when the narrative has no foothold in logic.”

The media adviser to Abubakar added that Tinubu must be a man of mystery because his supporters call him “Idan”.