Senator Afikuyomi Mistakenly Filed Tinubu’s Academic Credentials To INEC –Campaign Headquarters

The Bola Tinubu Campaign Headquarters on Saturday revealed that the former Senator, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, made mistake filling the academic certificates for Bola Tinubu in 1999.

The campaign said the recent certificate forgery charges against the former Lagos governor stemmed from a 1999 incident involving Lagos politician Tokunbo Afikuyomi.

The Bola campaign said Mr Afikuyomi was the one who falsely told the electoral department INEC in 1999 that Mr Tinubu attended primary and secondary schools in Ibadan, a claim that has now resurfaced ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.

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Media reports had said that the 2023 Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, did not submit his primary and secondary school certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It was reported that Tinubu claimed that his school certificates were stolen by unknown persons during the military rule in 1990.

The former governor of Lagos State stated this in an affidavit submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of his eligibility filings for the 2023 presidential elections.

It was gathered that documents released on Friday show that Tinubu left the columns for his primary and secondary education unmarked.

Tinubu, however, noted that he obtained a degree in business and administration in 1979 at the Chicago State University.

The Bola Tinubu campaign admitted that Asiwaju did not disclose his early schools because the matter was controversial in the early 2000s.

The campaign, however, said the ruling APC candidate was exonerated of all charges after Mr Afikuyomi, a former senator, admitted that he mistakenly filled the governorship nomination forms for Mr Tinubu in 1999 and, therefore, responsible for the false claims before a Lagos parliamentary panel that probed the counterfeit academic records.

“Asiwaju was exonerated in the House of Assembly’s report because Senator Afikuyomi said he filled the form on his behalf then,” campaign spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday.

Mr Onanuga did not clarify whether or not Mr Tinubu could be held responsible under the law since he was the candidate whose signature appeared on the falsified document filed under oath.

Mr Onanuga said Mr Tinubu left out his primary and secondary education columns when he sought a second governorship term in Lagos in 2003.

Mr Onanuga said Nigerians should disregard perjury charges against Mr Tinubu because has not held any political office since he concluded his two terms in 2007, until earlier this month when he clinched the presidential nomination of the ruling party.

“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?” Mr Onanuga added to NAN. “This was what happened that time and if in 2022, he (Tinubu) now drew blank on that session, what offence has he committed?”

The campaign dismissed the controversy as fueled by opposition elements of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr Tinubu had told INEC when he submitted his nomination forms on June 15 that he didn’t have primary and secondary school certificates, but he had two university degrees. However, the certificates from the tertiary institutions he attended had been stolen by state agents who breached his residence in Lagos during the brutal regime of Sani Abacha.