Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says questions on the identity of President Bola Tinubu have further worsened Nigeria’s battered reputation in the international community.
Gatekeepers News reports that during a press briefing on Wednesday, Obi, who came third in the presidential contest and who is also challenging the outcome of the vote at the apex court, said the controversy over Tinubu’s academic records has made foreigners to start profiling Nigerians as “fraudsters, certificate forgers or identity thieves”.
Obi said Tinubu owes the nation the simple obligation of reintroducing himself to the world.
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who came second during the 2023 General elections, challenged the victory and the Tribunal’s affirmation of Bola Tinubu as President of Nigeria.
Atiku argued that there were discrepancies in the certificate Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which should have rendered him ineligible to contest the election.
Subsequently, Atiku subpoenaed the Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records for use in the Nigerian supreme court.
The subpoenaed results were similar to those submitted by Bola Tinubu to the Electoral Commission.
However, Atiku addressed a press conference last week saying he would not stop asking questions about Tinubu’s academic records until the supreme court rules against him.
“The entire Chicago University matter as well as Chief Bola Tinubu’s many other lingering identity question marks has further worsened Nigeria’s less-than-glorious image internationally,” Obi said.
“Uninformed outsiders now see every Nigerian as a fraudster, certificate forger or identity thief. The controversy is unnecessary.
“The implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided. In my opinion, Bola Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself from this protracted embarrassment and undue anxiety.
“He should let the world know his name, his nationality, his place of birth, his parentage, the primary and secondary schools he attended with dates as well as the actual universities he attended and certificates obtained.
“He should indicate clearly where and when he did his national youth service. In addition, if at any time he had had a change of name, he should state so clearly. That in itself is no crime.
“It does not require an affidavit, prolonged court process, spokespersons, agents or surrogates. The task is only one which Bola Tinubu himself through a direct personal statement can perform.
“His present capacity as a leader of a nation of over 200 million Nigerians, his true identity is a matter of grave national and international interest.
“The people deserve to know with certainty the true identity of their leader and this overrides whatever right he may have to personal privacy.”
