The authenticity of the Diploma Certificate that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu claimed to have obtained from the Chicago State University (CSU) has been called into question after the institution said the copy was not issued by them.
President Tinubu used the certificate to secure final clearance for participation in the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressive Congress ( APC).
A top official of CSU, Mr Carl Westberg, on Tuesday said that a replacement copy of the Diploma certificate Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was not from CSU.
Westberg, who is the Registrar of the university, said he was seeing the Diploma certificate copy for the very first time during the proceedings.
The witness’ testimony was in accordance with the order of Judge Nancy Maldonado that he should make a deposition to back up the order for the release of academic documents of Tinubu to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Abubakar placed second in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, behind Tinubu He however challenged the results and the eventual declaration of the APC candidate as winner of the election on various grounds.
One of the grounds he cited was that Tinubu was not qualified to have stood for the election because he submitted forged documents on oath to INEC to secure eligibility.
To prove his claim, Atiku applied to a US District Court to issue an order compelling CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records to him for verification and authentication.
The court granted his prayer and also ordered that the release of Tinubu’s academic records should be backed up with deposition by an official of the institution.
Westberg testified on oath in furtherance of his order.
The witness conceded that the institution had no board of trustees in 1979, as against the claim in the certificate Tinubu submitted to the electoral body.
He was also asked to comment on the signatures on other certificates issued in 1979 and the one Tinubu submitted to INEC, admitting that there were variations in signature, logo, and seal.
Westberg noted that the signature on the replacement certificate of Tinubu matches certificates issued in the 1990s and not those of 1979, as claimed by the President.
Atiku is now awaiting a certified true copy of the deposition and cross-examination to further establish his allegation of forgery against Tinubu.
