Politics
Don’t Wash My Dirty Linens In Public – Tinubu To US Court
A United States’ District Judge, Nancy Maldonado, has received a passionate prayer from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to help shield his ugly past, by ordering the Chicago State University (CSU) to guard his personal information from the public.
President Tinubu madet the prayers on Monday, and among what he is desperate to keep from the public are his admission records, transcripts and gender.
Interestintly, these are what the legal team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar canvass would be of interest to the Nigerian public and help determine their appeal against the ruling of the Presidential Elections Petition Tribunal (PEPT).
However, President Tinubu’s legal team are praying the judge to sanction the release of only his certificate to the appellants.
The motion was filed by the president’s lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, with the clear stance that “the most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established” by President Tinubu’s alma mater.
Recall that Atiku’s legal team had secured an order from a US magistrate, Jeffrey Gilbert, for the CSU to make President Tinubu’s academic records available to them.
Among the documents Atiku’s, counsel, Angela Liu, applied for, are the record of President Tinubu’s admission and acceptance at the CSU, dates of attendance, degrees, awards and honours attained by the former governor of Lagos State at the university.
Recall that with the last Thursday deadline set by Gilbert at hand, President Tinubu’s lawyers approached Maldonado, praying that the earlier decision by Gilbert needed to be reviewed by a district judge.
The judge acceded to their prayers.
There was a twist on Monday, however, as President Tinubu’s legal team prayed the court to release only the certificate and preclude other academic records, which they described as “privileged”.
An extract from the motion filed by President Tinubu’s lawyer read, “The most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established by Chicago State University: Intervenor was awarded the degree as he stated.
“This point is irrelevant to the applicant because he is not seeking anything more than opposition research on a political opponent.
“The magistrate judge clearly erred in granting the application for discovery and concluding that Chicago State University must respond to the document and deposition subpoenas.
“That conclusion should be set aside and the application should be denied because the information sought cannot be used and therefore is not ‘for use’ in the foreign proceedings.
“Even if a narrow subset of information can be considered ‘for use’ in the foreign proceeding, that is limited to the diploma submitted to INEC.
“Fishing expeditions into other documents and more document productions must be precluded.”
This twist comes two days after the self-acclaimed classmate of the president, Olajide Adeniji, testified in the US district court that he knows and contested against President Tinubu as President of the Accounting Society Club at the Department of Business Admin/Accounting in the same CSU.
In the oath he took on September 23 at the Northern District of Illinois Court in Chicago, Adeniji swore that he was familiar with the same President Tinubu, the current president of Nigeria.
Biztellers gathered that Atiku’s camp has sworn to resist President Tinubu’s recent move, which they aver made it obvious that the President was bent on hiding something from Nigerians.
The Atiku camp is already bubbly with the prayers of the President Tinubu legal team.
They consider it a veiled confession that President Tinubu was living on a borrowed identity and would approach the court with counter-prayers.
Director, Research and Strategy, Atiku/Okowa 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, Pedro Obaseki, alleged that the claim by President Tinubu that the release of his record to the public would cause him personal pain was because the owner of the disputed certificate is a woman.
Speaking at a Zoom conference hosted by a London-based psychologist, Gold Emmanuel on Monday, Obaseki said the CSU would only confirm what Atiku’s camp already knew by making public the record of President Tinubu, who graduated from the institution in the late 70s.
He said, “Nigerians will be more demoralised that the owner of the certificate that President Tinubu is parading is a woman.
“We already know it as a fact, but we are seeking the release of the documents officially by CSU.”
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has handed a significant setback to Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, dismissing his appeal challenging a Federal High Court ruling that questioned his eligibility to contest the upcoming governorship election.
A three-member panel delivered a unanimous judgment on Monday, affirming that the trial court acted correctly when it allowed Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, the plaintiff, to amend his originating summons.
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Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who read the lead judgment, said the governor failed to show that the High Court’s decision caused any miscarriage of justice or denied him a fair hearing.
The appeal was therefore dismissed for lacking merit, and the court awarded ₦2 million in costs against Aiyedatiwa.
The ruling reinforces the November 24, 2025, Federal High Court decision in Akure, which granted Egbuwalo permission to challenge Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility for re-election.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal also rejected an application by Aiyedatiwa to set aside a January 27, 2026, order staying proceedings in the case before the Federal High Court.
The appellate court clarified that the stay was a lawful exercise of its jurisdiction aimed at protecting the integrity of the proceedings.
The panel further emphasized that attempting to overturn its own order would be akin to sitting on appeal over its own decision.
The governor’s remaining option, the court noted, is to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court. Another ₦2 million in costs was awarded against Aiyedatiwa.
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party has deepened following a ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which upheld a ban on the party’s proposed national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A three-man panel of the appellate court on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by a faction of the party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear a suit concerning the controversial convention.
The Turaki-led faction had approached the Court of Appeal after a Federal High Court barred the party from holding its planned national convention scheduled for November 14 and 15, 2025.
SEE MORE: Fubara Moves to Rebuild Cabinet as R/Assembly Screens Nine Commissioner Nominees
The lower court also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising or validating the proposed convention.
However, delivering judgment, the appellate court ruled that the Federal High Court had the authority to entertain the case, rejecting the argument that the matter was purely an internal affair of the party.
According to the court, the appellants could not present what it described as a clear violation of the party’s constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as merely an internal party issue.
The panel subsequently dismissed the appeal and awarded a cost of N2 million against the appellants.
The ruling is part of judgments delivered in nine harmonised appeals filed by the Turaki-led faction over the dispute surrounding the convention.
The latest court decision is expected to further intensify the internal wrangling within the opposition party as it continues to grapple with leadership disputes and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday began the screening of nine commissioner nominees submitted by the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, as part of efforts to reconstitute the state’s Executive Council.
The nominees arrived at the Assembly complex around 10 a.m. and were ushered into the chamber to undergo the screening exercise conducted by lawmakers.
Those screened include Datonye Alasia, Tonye Bellgam, Temple Nwofor, Peters Nwagor, Mrs. Charity Deemua, Tamuno Williams, Lekue Kenneth, Otonye TKD Amachree, and Amairigha Hart.
SEE ALSO: APC Sweeps Both Rivers Assembly Seats Despite Low Turnout
During the session, each nominee mounted the podium to introduce themselves and respond to questions from members of the Assembly.
The proceedings were broadcast live on Arise TV.
Governor Fubara had earlier forwarded the list of nominees to the Assembly on March 5, 2026, following his dissolution of the State Executive Council in a move aimed at forming a new cabinet to assist in running the affairs of the state.
Prior to the screening, the Assembly directed the nominees to submit 40 copies of their curriculum vitae, photocopies of their academic credentials, and evidence of tax compliance as part of the confirmation process.
The directive was contained in a notice signed by the Clerk of the House, Dr. Emeka Amadi.
The screening exercise comes months after political activities resumed fully in the state following the lifting of a state of emergency by Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria.
The emergency rule, which was imposed on March 18, 2025, led to the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the state legislature amid a prolonged political crisis linked to a power struggle between the governor and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who currently serves as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
However, the six-month emergency rule was lifted on September 17, 2025, paving the way for the restoration of democratic governance and legislative activities in the oil-rich state.
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