The Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation Saturday stated that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, did not lie under oath over academic qualifications.
This followed an allegation that Tinubu claimed in the forms he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2022 that he did not attend primary and secondary schools.
The former Lagos State governor was said to have claimed that he attended primary and secondary schools in the forms he submitted to INEC in 1999.
INEC had in line with the Electoral Act, on Friday released the Form EC9 containing some details of presidential candidates of the various political parties in the 2023 elections.
Based on this, a civil group, Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy on Saturday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General (IG) of Police to arrest and prosecute the former Governor of Lagos State for allegedly supplying false information to the INEC.
Tinubu, according to the group, lied in his Form EC9 that he did not attend both primary and secondary schools.
The group alleged that Tinubu’s claim contradicted his earlier submission to the electoral umpire in 1999 in his Form CF 001, where he also claimed that he attended Saint Paul Aroloya Children Home School Ibadan, between 1958 and 1964 and Government College, Ibadan between 1965 and 1969.
In its reaction, the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation on Saturday described the allegations by the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy as untrue.
The Director of Media and Communications of the organisation, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, who spoke in Abuja, said the group was only bringing up issues where there were none.
He said the APC presidential candidate was more than qualified to be Nigeria’s president.
Onanuga insisted that the former Lagos State governor did not submit any fake certificate to the electoral umpire in 1999.
According to him, the one (certificate) people keep referring to that he submitted was not even filled by him.
Onanuga argued that the Lagos State House of Assembly had exonerated Tinubu in its report.
“Asiwaju was exonerated in the House of Assembly’s report because Senator Afikuyomi said he filled the form on his behalf then.
“The same certificate he gave to INEC this year, he used in 2003 and there was no issue then. Why are they raising issues now?
“And what people don’t know is that when he was in exile, his house at Balarabe Musa Crescent in Surulere was burnt by the military and he couldn’t pick out a pin from the razed building.
“This was what happened that time and if in 2022, he (Tinubu) now drew blank on that session, what offence has he committed?
“Those who are making noise are PDP agents who are just trying to raise issues where there is none,” he said.
The campaign spokesman further said that the only thing needed to be Nigeria’s president is a school certificate but that the APC candidate had qualifications higher than a primary school certificate.
“People making noise are PDP agents. They cannot just be coming out to raise issues where there are non-issues.
“He (Tinubu) is more than qualified to be president of Nigeria,” he said.
