The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations and Political Parties for Good Governance has explained why President Bola Tinubu may not personally address this issue with Atiku Abubakar and and his counterpart Peter Obi over the controversy regarding Tinubu’s academic credentials from Chicago State University.
Atiku and Obi have both called on the president to reveal his genuine identity in response to the accusation of certificate fabrication leveled against Tinubu.
GISTLOVER further noted that Tinubu’s victory had been upheld by the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal’s ruling, which Atiku and Obi had sought to overturn by filing 86 grounds for appeal with the Supreme Court.
While the past vice president had charged Tinubu of fabricating his CSU credential of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration earned in 1979, Obi asked the former Lagos governor expose his genuine identity to Nigerians.
But spokesperson of the coalition, Dr Ene Ogbole told our reporter in a conversation that people who know the president like them recognize why he won’t acknowledge the jejune feelings of both politicians with a personal reaction.
The former coordinator of the disbanded Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council praised the president for his so far demonstrated degree of etiquette, maturity, and sportsmanship.
“The desperate manner Atiku and Obi are going about the president’s Chicago State University certificate is enough to traumatize anyone. It is enough to throw people off balance. It is just like when there was a lot of clamour for him to appear for media chat and he was holding back. The day he came out, what happened? Nigerians were amazed. People were wondering why they were hiding him from us. He is a man of decorum and high intelligence. He is an experienced man who has seen it all. He knows when to say something and when not to say anything.
“The world is at peace with what they found out. When these opponents begin to display maturity in the way they talk, he will come out and answer them. At least, it is still within his fundamental rights to answer questions when he wants to answer them, particularly when those questions are thrown at him. There would be a time he would do that.
“At any rate, what else do you want to hear when the institution involved has come out to say this man came to our school and even made their phone lines available for everyone in the world to make enquiry? The school itself swore and said this man came to our school and obtained the certificate.
“When the BBC, one of the global prime media stations also made enquiry and has certified him free and clear. And these things have been internationally buried. Whatever they are saying now is just noise. We are convinced beyond every reasonable doubt that His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, submitted authentic academic certificates and valid information to the Independent National Electoral Commission and if anyone has doubts over his submissions, the responsible thing to do is to come forth with evidence to the contrary.
“It is, therefore, irresponsible and asinine for anybody to doubt the validity of Mr President’s submissions to the electoral commission based on unfounded speculations like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi have done.”