NEWS
University Clerk Responsible For Chicago Certificate Errors – Tinubu
According to recent court documents revealed by Peoples Gazette, President Bola Tinubu has alleged that a clerk at Chicago State University is responsible for the significant irregularities found in a certificate that was reissued in his name.
The president stated that discrepancies in dates, which created differences between the certificate and his actual graduation date, were a result of errors made by the unnamed clerk.
This information was included in a statement filed on August 23 by Mr. Tinubu’s legal counsel as part of his defense before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The court had granted Nigerian politician Mr. Tinubu until August 23 to provide an explanation as to why his academic records from CSU should not be disclosed to his political adversary, Atiku Abubakar.
Earlier this month, Mr. Abubakar sought court approval to subpoena Mr. Tinubu’s records housed at CSU. He believed that these documents would help to resolve notable discrepancies in Mr. Tinubu’s history.
This includes information available to the public, indicating that CSU admitted a female student with the name Bola Tinubu, born on March 29, 1954, during the 1970s.
The Nigerian president, while asserting he was born on March 29, 1952, has previously stated his birth year as 1954 on different occasions. Notably, he recently removed his primary and secondary education details from his records.
This decision followed the revelation that the schools he had sworn under oath to have attended during his 1999 gubernatorial run in Lagos did not exist within Nigeria.
In light of these circumstances, Mr. Abubakar sought access to records that could clarify the educational path of Mr. Tinubu.
This legal action was taken under a U.S. statute that permits the subpoena of documents within the U.S. for use as evidence in foreign courts.
The requested records are expected to shed light on the academic records Mr. Tinubu submitted to CSU as part of his admission to study accounting there.
Mr. Abubakar initiated a lawsuit to secure access to Mr. Tinubu’s school records using a U.S. statute that permits the subpoenaing of documents in the U.S. for foreign court use.
Mr. Abubakar’s argument stemmed from the notion that Mr. Tinubu had made inconsistent statements both in Nigeria and at CSU.
Notably, in response to a prior subpoena, CSU had furnished documents that contradicted Mr. Tinubu’s sworn statements in Nigeria.
Mr. Tinubu’s legal team, headed by Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, contended that the August 2022 subpoena, which had been issued at the behest of Nigerian lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah, was deemed “illegal.”
This stance was based on the argument that there were no valid justifications for the requested documents, particularly given the considerations of education privacy rights.
Nevertheless, Mr. Tinubu’s lawyers acknowledged that the documents did originate from CSU. However, they stated that an unidentified clerk had inadvertently entered an incorrect graduation date.
“Unfortunately, in responding to the illegal and invalid subpoena, CSU made several errors,” Mr Tinubu’s attorneys said. “CSU issued a new diploma for Bola A. Tinubu, but incorrectly wrote the date of graduation as June 27, 1979.”
Additionally, the legal team pointed out that alterations in authorized signatories and logos by the school, coupled with other irregularities such as variations in the fonts used on the certificate, collectively contributed to the perception of impropriety.
The lawyer said “The correct date was June 22, 1979, but that scrivener’s error – along with a change in the CSU logo, the font on the diploma, and leadership at CSU who signed the diploma created the appearance of differences between an earlier issued diploma and the one issued in response to the 2022 subpoena.”
Mr Abubakar said he filed the suit because he wanted to get the school to certify all documents relating to Mr Tinubu, some of which had been filed by the Nigerian president’s lawyers in Nigerian court as part of the ongoing election petitions proceeding.
But Mr Tinubu argued further that Mr Abubakar should be requesting the documents because Mr Tinubu’s academic records were not part of the initial litigation over the Nigerian elections.
They said the opposition leader’s argument had been focused entirely on cheating and other irregularities around the conduct of the election.
The legal team also asserted that the Nigerian court responsible for election petitions had already completed hearings on arguments, with a judgment anticipated soon.
The court is obligated to deliver a verdict by September 21, in accordance with Nigerian electoral law, which dictates that a petition’s conclusion must occur within 180 days after the election.
The presidential election took place on February 25, and Mr. Tinubu assumed the presidency on May 29.
Mr. Tinubu’s stance seemed to align with the CSU’s perspective regarding the lawsuit.
The university authorities had indicated that they would defer their compliance decision to their former student, Mr. Tinubu, on this matter.
Chicago-based attorney Angela Marie Liu, heading Mr. Abubakar’s legal team, is anticipated to submit a response to Mr. Tinubu’s assertion that the documents should not be pursued.
Mr. Tinubu’s argument is based on the premise that these documents were not involved in the Nigerian proceedings and would be considered inadmissible due to the current phase of the case.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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