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.
Local refineries in Nigeria are resorting to Libya for crude oil supplies, as the domestic supplies keep falling short of feedstock demand.
Led by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP), local refineries have so far imported over two million barrels of crude oil from the North African country.
The import comes amid the high export of crude locally produced in Nigeria to other countries, leaving local refineries with no option but to seek feedstock elsewhere.
According to Libya Review, a local media outlet in the North African country, Libya’s crude oil exports reached a new milestone after Nigeria imported Libyan oil for the first time on record.
It noted that the development highlighted the growing role of Libyan supplies in regional energy markets amid ongoing disruptions to global trade flows.
According to data published by the Energy Research Unit, Nigeria imported around 64,500 barrels per day of Libyan crude in May 2026, equivalent to approximately two million barrels for the month. “The shipment marks the first recorded Nigerian import of Libyan crude in available historical data dating back to 2013,” the report said.
Recall that there were reports in 2024 that the DPRP was in talks with Libya for the purchase of crude oil. However, the Libyan oil corporation denied negotiating or entering into talks regarding the crude oil supply to any Nigerian refinery.
The statement, written in Arabic in 2024, translates, “The National Oil Corporation denies that it has negotiated or entered into any talks regarding the supply of crude oil to an oil refinery in Nigeria.”
The National Oil Corporation also confirmed then that it was committed to its contracts with its international partners and committed to the legal mechanism for selling Libyan oil raw materials and that it did not work with an immediate sales mechanism.
“In addition, the process of determining raw material prices is carried out through a committee of experts and is approved by the corporation and the Ministry of Oil and Gas,” Libya said in July 2024.
But it appears the agreement has finally been concluded with the supply of 2 million barrels to the DPRP in just one month. By ramping up capacity to 700,000 barrels per day and eyeing 1.4 million barrels per day in 2028, the refinery is increasingly in need of feedstock from multiple sources.
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In 2026, the refinery already imported cargoes of Angola’s Cabinda and Saxi Batuque crudes, Ghana’s Jubilee crude and, for the first time, Libyan and Guyanese supplies, all of the light sweet or medium sweet variety, according to S&P Global Energy data.
In Nigeria, local refiners have consistently complained of insufficient crude supply due to higher exports. Nigeria exported an estimated 148.9 million barrels of crude oil valued at about N20.22tn in the first five months of 2026, showcasing the scale of the country’s oil export despite persistent concerns over the domestic crude supply obligation.
The crude barrels were exported by both international and indigenous oil companies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicate that the total volume of crude oil produced by the country during the five-month review period in 2026 was 216.85 million barrels, out of which about 149 million barrels were exported.
Overall, Nigeria exported about 68.7 percent of the crude oil it produced during the five months, leaving roughly 67.95 million barrels available for domestic refining, storage, operational use, and inventory adjustments.
The import of crude from Libya is coming as international oil markets continue to adjust to supply disruptions linked to the US-Iran conflict and the resulting challenges affecting energy shipments through the Gulf region. These conditions, it was learnt, have allowed Libyan crude to expand its presence in both African and European markets.
Libya is also strengthening energy ties with neighbouring countries while also competing with Nigeria for major oil investors.
It was gathered that Egypt imported approximately 33,000 barrels per day of Libyan crude in April 2026, following imports of 57,000 barrels per day in February. The purchases marked Egypt’s first imports of Libyan crude since 2019 and form part of efforts to secure alternative supplies following agreements to import more than one million barrels per month from Libya.
Tunisia also increased purchases of Libyan crude during 2026, importing around 19,000 barrels per day in March and 10,000 barrels per day in May, despite only occasionally buying Libyan oil in previous years.
Italy remained Libya’s largest customer, importing 348,000 barrels per day in May, accounting for roughly one-third of total Libyan crude exports. Greece, Spain and Turkey followed among the leading buyers of Libyan oil.
A swift response by the Kwara State Fire Service helped avert a major disaster after a fire outbreak destroyed a laundry shop attached to an eight-room residential building in the Tanke area of Ilorin, Kwara State.
The incident occurred at about 3:58 a.m. on Tuesday at Assu-Luxury Quarters, off University Road. Although the laundry shop was gutted by the blaze, all residents of the building escaped unhurt, while firefighters successfully prevented the fire from spreading to the residential apartments and nearby properties.
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The Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed the incident in a statement, explaining that the affected property comprised eight residential rooms and a laundry shop, with only the laundry section sustaining damage.
According to him, firefighters responded promptly to the emergency, bringing the fire under control by about 4:25 a.m. before concluding the operation at approximately 4:42 a.m.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire may have been caused by an electrical power surge, possibly from a pressing iron left switched on for an extended period.
However, the fire service said investigations are still ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident.
Reacting to the development, the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Alabi Muhammed, urged business owners, particularly laundry operators, to adopt safer electrical practices.
He advised operators to switch off electrical appliances immediately after use and never leave them unattended while powered.
Muhammed also stressed the importance of conducting routine electrical inspections, using standard electrical appliances, and installing surge protection devices to minimise the risk of fire outbreaks.
The Kwara State Fire Service reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives and property through prompt emergency response and sustained public awareness on fire safety.
The Federal Government has approved the most comprehensive overhaul of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) since its establishment 53 years ago, introducing a civilian leadership structure, a redesigned uniform, and several reforms aimed at making the scheme more relevant to Nigeria’s economic and youth development goals.
The approval was granted during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on Monday in Abuja.
A major highlight of the reforms is the replacement of the military leadership of the NYSC with a civilian operational head, while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members across the country.
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To pave the way for the implementation of the reforms, the FEC directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to amend the NYSC Act and other relevant regulations to provide legal backing for the changes.
Announcing the development, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described the overhaul as the first holistic review of the NYSC in its 53-year history.
According to him, the reforms are designed to transform the scheme into a skills-driven, productivity-focused institution that aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy.
The reforms include a technology-driven call-up process, risk-sensitive deployment to enhance the safety of corps members, and a redesigned six-week orientation programme with greater emphasis on leadership, entrepreneurship, digital skills, and specialised career pathways.
The government also approved skills-based primary assignments that match corps members’ academic qualifications and career aspirations, improved orientation camp standards through a national grading and certification system, a new graduation ceremony to replace the traditional Passing Out Parade, and a redesigned NYSC uniform aimed at promoting professionalism and national pride.
Olawande said the reform process began in 2025 following extensive consultations involving the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the Federal Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination before receiving final approval from the Federal Executive Council.
He described the reforms as an investment in Nigeria’s youth, expressing confidence that the changes would make the NYSC more impactful and better positioned to equip young Nigerians with practical skills for the future.
Established in 1973 after the Nigerian Civil War, the NYSC was created to promote national unity by deploying graduates to states outside their regions of origin for one year of compulsory national service.
The latest reforms represent the first comprehensive review of the scheme since its creation.
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