Tinubu Blames Clerk For Irregularities On Chicago University Certificate

In complying with the directive of the court, however, Tinubu’s lawyer said that an unidentified clerk of the university “unfortunately” made the errors as to the dates the school stated on his recently-issued certificate and when he actually graduated, thereby creating “the appearance of differences.”

Tinubu’s new claim was made before the judge hearing the case, Jeffery Gilbert of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

Atiku had subpoenaed the university to make a discovery of Tinubu’s academic records, believing that such discoveries will shed more light on the controversies surrounding Tinubu’s educational claims.

There have been crises of authenticity about the documents that Tinubu submitted with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a viral document that the university in the 1970s admitted a female student bearing Bola Tinubu who was born on March 29, 1954.

While President Tinubu claimed that he was born on March 29, 1952, he had also, at different times, listed 1954 as his birth year in the past.

In 1999, during his run for the Lagos State governorship position, he claimed to have attended schools in Nigeria, which included Government College Ibadan, but which he later rescinded.

He had also recently expunged his primary and secondary education from his records after it was discovered that other schools he listed under oath in his 1999 INEC form CF001 did not exist anywhere in Nigeria.

However, the documents being sought by Atiku seek to highlight which early education credentials Tinubu submitted to Chicago University before he was admitted into the institution.

Atiku’s contention is that Tinubu had presented contradictory claims in Nigeria and the university in responding to a previous subpoena.

Tinubu’s response, which was signed by his lawyers, Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, quotes in part, “unfortunately, in responding to the illegal and invalid subpoena, CSU made several errors.