The Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation has moved swiftly to quash the certificate saga rocking the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, with a declaration that he was ably qualified to ascend the presidency.
The group brushed aside allegations of filing false certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) levelled against the former Lagos governor by the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, describing it as untrue.
Earlier on Saturday, the civil right group, had issued the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police, a 48- hour ultimatum to arrest and file a criminal prosecution against Tinubu for allegedly supplying false academic qualifications to INEC in his bid to secure his party’s nomination ahead of 2023 Presidential race.
The Legal Adviser of the group, Mr Kalu Agu, in a statement issued in Abuja, threatened to initiate a court action against the police boss if his fails to swoop on Tinubu at the end of the ultimatum.
Agu argued that Tinubu was not legally qualified to become president of Nigeria on account of supplying false information on oath, in his Form EC9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He alleged that in 1999, Tinubu claimed to have attended Saint Paul Aroloya Children Home School, Ibadan between 1958 and 1964 and Government College Ibadan, between 1965 and 1969, only to turn around in 2022 that he never attended any primary or secondary school in his EC9 form.
According to the rights activist, the petition calling for arrest and prosecution of Tinubu, was submitted to the Police IG since June 16, 2022.
He, however, lamented that up till Saturday, June 25, the police authority had not deemed it fit to effect the arrest of the politician.
Agu explained that the position of his group was not politically motivated but predicated on the need for good governance and transparent leadership Nigeria deserved in the 2023 general elections.
Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Director, Media and Communications of the organisation, while reacting to the certificate saga in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, insisted that the APC presidential candidate was more than qualified to be Nigeria’s president.
He countered that in 1999, the former governor did not submit any fake certificate to the electoral umpire. According to Onanuga, the one (certificate) people keep referring to that he submitted was not even filled by him.
He recalled that the Lagos State House of Assembly exonerated Tinubu in its report.
Hear him: “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 on 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 all one needed to have attained to be Nigeria’s president is a school certificate but that the APC candidate had qualification higher than 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.
