In a deposition it gave on Tuesday, Chicago State University (CSU) said it didn't have a copy of the diploma President Bola Tinubu provided to the Independent National Electoral Commission. Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) candidate for president in the most recent election, had CSU disclose Tinubu's academic transcripts so that the Nigerian Supreme Court could utilize them. Tinubu's victory in the election on February 25 and the petition tribunal's declaration of Tinubu as the winner are both being contested by Abubakar.
He had contended that Tinubu should not have been allowed to run for office because of errors in the certificate he provided to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). TheCable reports that Caleb Westberg, the university registrar and deponent/witness, claimed the following about the certificate (also known as a diploma) Tinubu handed to the INEC: "The institution only possesses certifications that students didn't pick up in its custody.
Diplomas are often not kept on file by the university. The diploma that was sent to INEC is not in my hands. Additionally, he stated that "outside vendors" provide new diplomas as necessary. Diplomas are viewed in the US as essentially ceremonial papers, according to Westberg. It could be valued higher in some other nations. In the US, transcripts are more frequently relied upon than diplomas. He said that all of the certified papers originated in CSU's records.
"CSU has never previously validated any documents for anyone. It must have been manufactured since it seemed more Nigerian, the man added. "I don't know of any situation when CSU was asked to certify a paper. President Tinubu's representative, Mr. Wole Afolabi, insisted that the documents be authenticated. In response to a different query, he stated that although he had gone into Tinubu's student file and generated the documents, he was unaware that they would be certified. "I don't get involved in legal matters," he declared. It happens occasionally for data inputs to be entered incorrectly, according to Westberg.
I attended UC Berkeley and UC Irving before CSU. I'm sure there are times when data input errors happen," he remarked. The witness added that it's conceivable sellers are in charge of the certificate Tinubu gave the Nigerian Electoral Commission before to the election. "Over the years, several policies have changed. The replacement of diplomas is handled by other suppliers, he explained.
You would have to ask Tinubu why he didn't pick up his new diploma from the institution, the witness remarked in response. The only diplomas that the university is in possession of are those that students didn't pick up. Diplomas are often not kept on file by the university. Mr. Tinubu did not pick up the diploma, therefore I have it in our custody. Mr. Enahoro-Ebah was given it, he added. "He picked up the diploma submitted to INEC, so I do not have it in our possession."
He said, "I notice that he mentioned that the Nigerian president is the same guy that he ran against. Bola Tinubu took accounting classes at Southwest College. Bola Tinubu studied accounting classes when enrolled at CSU. I noticed Bola Tinubu's address listed there. CSU is not far away.
I examined the entire file to confirm that Bola Tinubu, who is currently the president of Nigeria, also attended CSU. '1952' and '1954' might have been entered incorrectly. The individual who attended CSU is the same person who attended Southwest College. Bola Tinubu consistently enrolls in the same courses at Southwest and CSU.
The social security number (SSN) inputted and shown in the Southwest transcript just after the entry "F" matches the one seen in the CSU records. One of the indicators we use to recognize kids is that. A social security number serves as a unique identification. When questioned about why he thinks the Nigerian president of today attended CSU, the witness responded that Bola Tinubu is an uncommon name in the US.
He added, "He compared the information given by the student or on behalf of the student to the entries in the file. We think the current president of Nigeria is the same Bola Tinubu who studied at CSU. Allegations have been made that the Tinubu who was admitted to CSU was a woman. According to the CSU witness, Tinubu applied to the institution as a man, and a man was given a letter of admission.
"Mr. Tinubu's records had information indicating that he was a man. I saw the CSU application. Mr. Tinubu declared that he was a man. He was identified as a man in his admissions letter. 'Dear Mr. Tinubu,' it begins. According to an item on the APC website, President Bola Tinubu was born on March 29, 1952, in Lagos. "I am unable to comment since I do not possess a copy of the diploma that was submitted to INEC.
I'm not aware of the fact that he claimed a different nationality or date of birth on the form he submitted to INEC. Yes, according to our records, he was born on March 29. '1954' appears on one, whereas '1952' appears on the other. People do occasionally make errors while entering such information.
