The omission of primary and secondary school qualifications from President Tinubu’s newly published 2027 INEC nomination form has revived the certificate controversy from the 2023 election litigation, drawing sharp questions from lawyers and opposition parties, while INEC insists it doesn’t verify document authenticity.
Old ghosts, new form. Daily Trust reports that the publication of President Tinubu’s 2027 nomination documents has reopened a controversy many thought was buried after the Supreme Court settled it in 2023.
INEC’s Saturday release showed Tinubu listing only his 1979 BSc from Chicago State University, with the summary page’s primary and secondary school sections left blank — a stark contrast to rivals like Atiku Abubakar, who listed his 1954 FSLC and 1961 WASC, and Peter Obi, who named his primary school, secondary school, and university in full.
Legal voices split sharply on the implications. SAN Mumini Jimoh called a secondary school certificate a basic requirement for the presidency, though he suspected the blank spaces were an administrative error rather than a real gap. Fellow SAN Mohammed Abeni was blunter: “You don’t jump from primary school to university… especially for a president that has been dogged by academic controversies.” Constitutional lawyer Danjuma John pointed to Section 318(1) of the Constitution, which recognizes WAEC certificates, Grade II Teacher’s Certificates, or Primary Six Certificates with service experience as qualifying credentials.
Not everyone agreed there’s a problem. SAN Taiye Oniyide argued the omission has no legal weight since a university degree exceeds the secondary school threshold, calling the debate “moral,” not constitutional.
INEC, for its part, distanced itself from the controversy entirely. Deputy Director of Voter Education and Publicity Wilfred Osilama Ifogah said the commission’s role under the Electoral Act 2026 is simply to publish documents for public scrutiny, not verify them: “It’s not the responsibility of the commission to verify the authenticity of credentials of candidates.”
The ADC didn’t hold back. National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi accused Tinubu of hiding something, saying the omission “gives credence to the rumour that he has something to hide in relation to his claims.”
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