Paul Ibe, the media aide to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, along with Timothy Osadolor, a PDP youth leader, have accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of distancing itself from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu due to the controversies surrounding his academic records.
In previous developments, former vice president Atiku Abubakar had sought a court order from the US district court in the northern district of Illinois, Chicago, to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records.
Tinubu’s credentials indicate that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, and management. However, allegations have arisen concerning discrepancies in his certificate.
Abubakar’s legal action requested the court to subpoena Tinubu’s files from CSU, aiming to settle the academic background dispute and support the election petition tribunal.
Tinubu countered by attributing the discrepancies to a clerical error on the certificate issued by the university. His lawyers, Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, explained that an unidentified university clerk made an error regarding the date stated on the recently-issued certificate, inadvertently causing “the appearance of differences.”
The Director of Publicity for the APC, Bala Ibrahim, commented on the case, indicating that the party did not object to Atiku’s pursuit of information as long as due process was followed.
However, Paul Ibe noted in an interview with The Findwhosabi that the APC’s stance suggested they had forsaken Tinubu due to the multiple controversies linked to him. Ibe stated, “We are not surprised that the party said they cannot have issues with us. This is an indication that they have abandoned him.”
Timothy Osadolor, a member of the PDP’s National Executive Committee, commended the APC’s director of publicity for his position. Osadolor emphasized that the truth regarding Tinubu’s academic records was known but not being openly acknowledged. He pointed out that the APC’s reluctance to engage was a sign that they found it inconvenient to support the truth.