The legal representatives of Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, have expressed their bewilderment over Bola Tinubu’s strong resistance towards a request for transparency regarding his educational qualifications from Chicago State University (CSU).
Atiku’s lawyer, Liu Angela, shared that an email was sent to Tinubu’s legal team seeking cooperation in seeking information about documents that are already public and submitted in Nigerian court proceedings.
In the email sent on August 3, 2023, Angela requested CSU’s position on the documents and their authenticity, especially concerning their presentation to other Nigerian litigants.
Angela noted that Tinubu should be interested in resolving any inconsistencies in his academic records to clarify the matter. She emphasized that if there’s a plausible explanation for the discrepancies, it would be expected that Tinubu would provide it.
Atiku’s legal team has shown a willingness to collaborate with Tinubu’s team to put an end to the controversies around the president’s credentials. However, Tinubu’s firm refusal to share his school records has raised suspicions and led Atiku’s team to believe he might be concealing something.
Angela expressed disappointment in Tinubu’s obstruction of the judicial process, highlighting that he could have joined the case earlier instead of waiting until Atiku’s team had filed a motion related to the academic records. Tinubu’s approach to joining the suit seemed calculated and non-cooperative.
The resistance exhibited by Tinubu’s legal team has added to the optimism of Atiku’s side, suggesting that the academic records might support Atiku’s claims against Tinubu at the presidential elections petitions tribunal, potentially demonstrating that President Tinubu could have misrepresented his credentials and may be disqualified.