Academic Qualifications: Full documents that Tinubu, Atiku, Kwankwaso, Obi submitted to INEC
The academic qualifications of major contestants of the presidential candidates for the 2023 general elections that were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are as follows.
Newsflash Nigeria had earlier reported that the INEC had on Friday published the particulars of candidates for the 2023 general elections.
According to INEC, the names of all presidential candidates and their running mates ahead of the 2023 elections are as follows.
- The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Mr. Ibrahim Masari.
- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa.
- Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and his running mate, Doyin Okupe.
- Osita Nnadi, presidential candidate of Action Peoples Party (APP), and his running mate, Isa Hamisu.
- Kolawole Abiola, presidential candidate of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and his running mate, Ribi Marshal.
- Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, and his running mate, Johnson Oladipupo.
- Yabagi Sani, presidential candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP), and his running mate, Udo Okey -Okoro.
- Ado-Ibrahim Abdulmalik, presidential candidate, Young Progressives Party (YPP), and his running mate, Enyinna Kasarachi.
- Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate for African Action Congress (AAC ), and his running mate, Garba Magashi.
- Mamman Dantalle, presidential candidate of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and his running mate Ojei Princess.
- Chukwudi Umeadi, presidential candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and his running mate Koli Mohammed.
- Oluwafemi Adenuga, presidential candidate of Boot Party (BP) and the running mate Turaku Mustapha.
- Daberechukwu Nwanyanwu, presidential candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the running mate, Ramalan Abubakar.
- Dumebi Kachikwu, presidential candidate, African Democratic Congress (ADC), and his running mate, Ahmed Mani.
- Hamsa Almustafa, presidential candidate, Action Alliance (AA), and his running mate Chukwuka Johnson.
The publication has been followed by animated discussions among Nigerians on social media on the academic credentials of some of the presidential candidates.
On the front burner of the discussions are questions about why the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, provided no information on his primary and secondary education.
Stating his occupation as “POLITICIAN,” the 70 years old APC National Leader claimed he obtained a B.Sc degree in Business and Administration from Chicago State University on June 22, 1979, before participating in the compulsory National Youth Service from November 12, 1982.
Among Mr Tinubu’s published particulars at the INEC office, he swore to an affidavit that his certificates are missing.
“I went on self-exile from October 1994 to October 1998. When I returned I discovered that all my property, including all the documents relating to my qualifications and my certificates in respect of paragraph three above, were looted by unknown persons.
“My house was a target of series of searches by various security agents from the time the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was forced to adjourn following the military takeover of the government of 17th November 1993,” the two-term former governor of Lagos State claimed in the court affidavit.
Some Nigerians want to know more about Mr Tinubu’s past than what he revealed to INEC.
Similar concerns were raised over his background when he contested for governor in 1999 and 2003. The late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi filed a suit asking the courts to compel the police to prosecute Mr Tinubu for perjury and forgery after a petition accused him of those offences in his filings with INEC in 1999.
After the Supreme Court dismissed the suit on the ground that Mr Tinubu had immunity as governor against being prosecuted in court, the Lagos State House of Assembly investigated the matter and absolved Mr Tinubu of the charge of gross misconduct.
Mr Tinubu is considered by many political commentators as the candidate to beat in the 2023 presidential race, the reason for the intense public attention on his candidature.
Atiku Abubakar
The published documents by INEC picked up a similar thing about two or more candidates.
Despite not being a novice in the contest for president, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, also has a few questions raised about his academic credentials.
Mr Abubakar, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, will be hoisting the PDP presidential ticket for the second time in 2023. He had lost to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 election.
Mr Abubakar also did not provide information on his primary education. The 1965 West Africa School Certificate (WASC) result presented by the 75-year-old candidate identified the student as Siddiq Abubakar.
He also holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom.
Before joining politics, Mr Abubakar worked with the Nigeria Customs Service until he retired from the agency in 1989 at the rank of Deputy Director.
Mr Abubakar’s records show that he attended Jada Primary School, Adamawa State, but that information is missing in his published biodata by the INEC.
“Well, I think it is INEC that you should be making those enquiries to. Whatever it is that they published was not in my hands,” Paul Ibe, a spokesperson to Mr Abubakar told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.
“I don’t know what was submitted to INEC and what was not. So INEC is in the best position to know what it received and what it did not receive,” he said when asked about the lack of information on the candidate’s early education.
His running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, also did not state his primary education in the published documents.
Kwankwaso, Obi
The two candidates are being tipped to give the APC and PDP candidates a run for their money. Unlike Messrs Tinubu and Atiku, Mr Kwankwaso provided full information on his academic credentials.
He bagged his first leaving certificate in 1968 and his secondary school certificate in 1975.
Mr Kwankwaso, 66, has Craft Training Certificate, ND, HND, Post Graduate Diploma, M.Sc and Ph.D, which he recently concluded.
He attached a copy of his provisional Ph.D certificate with his thesis on the Design and Construction of the Irrigation System in Northern Nigeria.
Before resigning in 1991 to join politics, Mr Kwankwaso had worked at Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency (WRECA) for over 15 years.
Among the four top contenders in the race, he is the only candidate who has served as governor, lawmaker and minister.
Much celebrated in his huge social media fan base, Peter Obi is the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) which he joined last month after quitting the PDP.
With a knack for quoting figures/statistics at every given opportunity in any public discourse, the two-term governor of Anambra, identified himself as a politician and business executive.
Mr Obi attended primary, secondary and tertiary schools between 1973 and 1984.
Before joining politics, he had worked at Fidelity Bank in Lagos, but he did not stay the years in the INEC published documents.
Mr Obi, 61, is the youngest among the top four presidential candidates.
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