Tinubu trying to hide vital information about his Chicago education claim, says Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee for president in the general election of 2023, has maintained his belief that President Bola Tinubu must address the controversy surrounding his educational background.

Atiku remarked that his legal counsel was perplexed that Tinubu had maintained a “vigorous opposition” to a request to the Chicago State University to make an open disclosure about the subject in a statement he gave through his lawyer, Liu Angela, in Abuja yesterday.

Angela clarified that she had sent an email to Tinubu’s attorneys requesting their assistance in contacting Chicago State University regarding records that were already in the public domain and had been submitted as part of a case in a Nigerian court.

The email, which was sent on August 3, 2023 is requesting, “to learn CSU’s position on whether, how, and when they were provided to other Nigerian litigants, and CSU’s position on the authenticity of the documents.

“ Mr. Tinubu should have been keen to clear up any inconsistencies in his academic achievements and set the records straight by allowing the expedition of the legal process.

“If there is an explanation for the discrepancies we have identified, we would think that Mr Tinubu would be eager to provide it. If you would like to provide an explanation to us, we are happy to consider it. That might preclude the need for, or at least expedite the deposition.

“Atiku has thus, through his lawyer, expressed a willingness to cooperate with Mr Tinubu’s legal team to shut down controversies surrounding the president’s credentials.

“But rather than extend the same cooperation to Atiku’s lawyer, the team representing Tinubu has vehemently opposed all initiatives aimed to setting the records straight about Tinubu education claims at the Chicago State University.

“Ms. Angela thus stressed that Mr Tinubu’s adamant refusal to grant them access to his school records has only fuelled suspicions and suggested that he has something to conceal.”

“In candour, the vehemence of Mr Tinubu’s opposition to this discovery is increasing rather than mitigating our suspicions.”

The lawyer representing Atiku further expressed disappointment about how Tinubu is frustrating and stalling the entire judicial process.

She stressed that Tinubu had been advised to join the case earlier since the applicant would not oppose the request, but that he chose to remain silent and waited until Atiku’s team had submitted an ‘Order Directing Discovery’ of his academic records in court before expressing an interest in joining the suit.