The legitimacy of the Diploma Certificate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu claimed to have gotten from Chicago State University, CSU, has been a source of contention.
The certificate was utilized by the President to obtain final approval for participation in the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC.
In the most recent development, Mr Carl Westberg, a key official of the CSU, stated on Tuesday that Tinubu’s replacement copy of the Diploma certificate he provided to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was not from the Institution.
Speaking under oath, Westberg, the university’s Registrar, stated that he was seeing the Diploma certificate copy for the first time in the current proceedings.
The subpoenaed witness testified under oath on the order of Judge Nancy Maldonado to support Tinubu’s order for the release of academic documents to PDP presidential contender Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku Abubakar, who ran alongside Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, had contested the APC candidate’s election victory on a number of grounds.
Among the grounds are that Tinubu was not qualified to run for office since he presented fraudulent documents under oath to INEC to gain eligibility.
In order to pursue his claim, Atiku petitioned a US District Court for an order ordering the CSU to submit Tinubu’s academic records to him for verification and authentication.
Following his victory in the US court, the CSU was required to provide his academic records and to back up the release of the documents with a deposition by an institution official.
In accordance with the court’s decision, Westberg stated under oath that Tinubu’s Diploma certificate, which he claimed to have gotten from the university and used to secure authorization for participation in the presidential election, is not a university document.
For example, the witness admitted that the Institution did not have a board of trustees in 1979, contrary to Tinubu’s allegation in his certificate to the electoral authority.
When questioned about the signatures on other certificates granted in 1979 and the one Tinubu submitted to INEC, the witness confessed to differences in the signature, logo, and seal.
Westberg specifically pointed out that Tinubu’s signature on the replacement certificate matches certificates issued in the 1990s, not 1979, as asserted by the President.
Meanwhile, a certified true copy of the deposition and cross examination is expected to be handed over to Atiku in order to support his forgery claim against Tinubu.
It should be noted that the final round of Atiku’s petition, seeking Tinubu’s disqualification from the 2023 presidential race, is presently before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.