Chicago State University disavows knowledge of Tinubu’s INEC certificate submission

Chicago State University (CSU) has officially denied any knowledge of a certificate submitted by President Bola Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This development has led to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois adjourning the ruling on a subpoena application seeking Bola Tinubu’s records from the university.

During the court proceedings in Chicago, CSU’s counsel, Michael Hayes, stated that the university was unable to authenticate Tinubu’s certificate as either genuine or fake. This recent statement contradicts CSU’s previous claims that they had issued a certificate to the Nigerian politician after his graduation in 1979.

Hayes, during the hearing, addressed the question of the certificate’s authenticity, saying, “Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions.”

According to PeoplesGazette, Hayes emphasized that CSU’s administrators, if asked under oath, would not be able to certify Tinubu’s certificate because they have no information regarding its origin.

Hayes responded to the judge’s inquiry into the university’s ability to confirm under oath that Tinubu was issued the certificate he presented to Nigeria’s electoral office in June 2022. Hayes noted that CSU records showed Tinubu attended the school but admitted to several contradictions that the university’s administrators could not clarify under oath. These discrepancies included the date on Tinubu’s certificate, the school’s president at the time, and typographical errors on the document.

Tinubu had submitted a certificate to INEC in June 2022, purportedly issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. However, Ms. Daniel only arrived at CSU in 1998, 19 years after Tinubu was said to have graduated, and left the school in 2008, 14 years before CSU issued a new certificate in Tinubu’s name in June 2022 under subpoena from a Nigerian lawyer.

These contradictions prompted Atiku Abubakar to file a lawsuit to compel CSU to produce records related to Tinubu and make its top officials available for deposition to certify the produced records. These documents and depositions are being sought for use in the Nigerian Supreme Court, where the final battle over Tinubu’s election is now headed.

The judge, in response, said he would need additional time to reflect before ruling on the matter and instructed the parties to go through the records submitted before the court and update them if necessary. A date for a final ruling or additional hearing would be communicated to the parties.