The publication of President Bola Tinubu’s nomination documents by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reignited debate over his educational qualifications, bringing back an issue that featured prominently during legal disputes following the 2023 presidential election.
The renewed controversy followed INEC’s release on Saturday of the nomination forms and accompanying credentials of presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2027 general election.
A review of Tinubu’s EC9 nomination form shows that the President listed only a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Chicago State University under the educational qualifications section. The spaces provided for his primary and secondary school certificates were left blank, although copies of his university degree certificate and National Youth Service Corps certificate were attached to the nomination papers.
The development has drawn mixed reactions from political stakeholders, with opposition figures questioning the omission and calling for explanations, while others insist the matter has already been determined by the courts and no longer raises legal concerns.
In the form, Tinubu stated that he was born on March 29, 1952, in Lagos and described his occupation as “Politician.”
He also declared that he worked at Mobil Nigeria Limited between 1983 and 1992 before serving as Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.
The President listed his current employer as the Federal Government of Nigeria from 2023 to date and stated that he had never been dismissed from public service.
Reacting to the development, the National Publicity Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition, Osa Director, said questions surrounding the omission should be directed at the President and his aides.
He said, “It is so disappointing that this is what we are talking about. Again, I believe that we are just raising this question for academic purposes. We don’t know the answer to our question. That is, those certificates are not there. So, it is what it is.
“But I think this question should be directed to the appropriate quarters, that is to the President and his aides, not to us in the opposition.
“Let them tell us why the President’s secondary school and primary school certificates are not there. We all know that you cannot graduate from university without attending basic school.
“They should be able to tell us what happened to them. Because when you fill out forms online and to submit, it will reject your submission, saying you have not completed filling in all the necessary information.
“So, I am surprised that this form went through INEC, knowing it was not filled.
“INEC also has a question to answer by accepting that form when the information was incomplete, though we also have to commend them for having the guts to publish it for all Nigerians to see the gaps. So, over to the President.”
The spokesman for the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Habibu Muhammed, also described the questions being raised as legitimate, saying Nigerians deserved a clear explanation.
“I think the constitution is very clear as to the minimum qualification one should possess before becoming the president.
“Sometimes you wonder what exactly that means because when they say something is minimal, it means it is the basic requirements. When such is not available, I think one should begin to ask what happened.
“So, Nigerians are legitimately demanding answers, actually. And I think they have every reason to do so.
“It doesn’t matter whether somebody got away with it the first time (2023). Let it be scrutinised and proven.
“If that means a violation of the law or shortcomings, I think there is really nothing more important than making sure that the right thing is done at whatever point it was discovered.
“So, I think it is a legitimate question that Nigerians are asking and a solid explanation should be given – be it through the decision of the courts or any kind of pronouncement by the Supreme Court – for us to be clear.
“You don’t expect people to build a house without a foundation at all. And the foundation for any academic qualification lies in the primary and secondary schools.
“We need to have a definite position of the law on the subject matter so that people will stop speculating or doing guesswork. That will continue to guide our politicians and their inter-political life.”
Offering a different perspective, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Ken Asogwa, argued that the issue should be viewed from the standpoint of the law rather than public sentiment.
He said, “But the law allows him to tender that B.Sc without the other documents that are assumed he would have got before getting the B.Sc. So if the law permits that, I don’t see the hue and cries over it.
“Unfortunately, this matter has been litigated up to the Supreme Court, which threw the case out in the last election.
“However, I agree with you that for anyone to say he earned a B.Sc, it is assumed that you should have had your First School Leaving Certificate and WAEC that enabled you to proceed for B.Sc.
“But, as I said, it is a matter of law. For me, it bothers more on the moral aspect, which has nothing to do with his eligibility at this point.
“So I think we should concentrate efforts on the credibility of this coming election and what should be done to appeal to voters and win the confidence of Nigerian electorates, other than his qualification.
“Otherwise, it will be a total waste of time for the opposition to be dwelling on that.”
The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Major Agbo, also maintained that anyone dissatisfied with the President’s declaration should seek judicial interpretation instead of trying the matter in the court of public opinion.
“The truth is that the position of the law states that the minimum qualification is secondary school, that is either GCE, SSCE or whatever they call it. The implication is that a candidate can declare any certificate beginning from First School Leaving Certificate to WAEC.
“But in this country, we like putting the cart before the horse. If what INEC has published now is his certificate from Chicago University and people want to know whether he went through primary and secondary school, the right thing to do in a democracy is to ask the courts to help find out.
“For how long shall we continue to put our public officers through the court of public opinion? Again, how has that helped us in the past?
“Every Nigerian has the right to sue anybody who is a leader or aspires to be a leader. If he declares that he has a certificate from Chicago University, the law still covers him.
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“The law states that you should declare anything that is not less than SSCE. And that is exactly what INEC has done. So if what was published is just a degree certificate, the right thing for anybody who wants to contest it to do is to approach the courts. Let’s stop dragging our leaders in the court of public opinion. It will not help us.”
On his part, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, insisted the issue remained unresolved.
“There is no need for us to continue debating this. Every Nigerian knows this man is not qualified academically. This is a big issue.
“Until it is proven that he is qualified, the controversy will continue. It is disgusting and embarrassing for INEC to even post it the way it did.
“It is a condemnable act because we know he is not qualified. It is a terrible thing, and we need to challenge it,” he said.
The debate gathered further momentum on Sunday after African Democratic Congress chieftain Dino Melaye alleged that Tinubu did not submit his primary and secondary school certificates to INEC.
Posting on his X page, Melaye wrote: “See what Tinubu submitted to INEC, no primary, no secondary school, no Nigerian classmate…”
President Tinubu, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, is expected to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Although the President’s academic records were extensively litigated after the 2023 election, INEC’s latest publication has once again placed the issue in the spotlight. While some political actors believe the matter raises legitimate legal and constitutional questions, others maintain that previous court decisions have settled the issue, leaving the debate to continue largely in the political arena.