CSU CERTIFICATE CONTROVERSY: How Ex-Lecturer Inadvertently Indicted Himself Over Claims Against President Tinubu

CSU CERTIFICATE CONTROVERSY: How Ex-Lecturer Inadvertently Indicted Himself Over Claims Against President Tinubu

LAGOS — A fresh controversy surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic credentials at Chicago State University (CSU) has taken an unexpected turn, following explosive claims made by a former lecturer at the institution, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse.

Pearse, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and governorship aspirant, publicly accused President Tinubu of never attending CSU, describing the Nigerian leader in harsh terms during a broadcast interview on News Central Television. Pearse claimed that as a former lecturer at CSU, he had direct knowledge of the institution’s records and served as the director of the program Tinubu reportedly attended.

However, Pearse’s allegations have sparked fierce backlash after key details of his timeline emerged, leading political analysts and presidential aides to conclude that the former lecturer effectively indicted himself.

The Discrepancy in Timelines

During his broadcast appearance, Dr. Pearse disclosed that he served as a lecturer and program director at Chicago State University between 1985 and 1990.

Official records previously confirmed by Chicago State University establish that President Bola Tinubu attended the university between 1977 and 1979, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in June 1979.

The six-year gap between Tinubu’s graduation in 1979 and Pearse’s arrival at the university in 1985 has drawn significant scrutiny. Critics point out that Pearse was not present at CSU during the years Tinubu studied there, undermining his claim of personal first-hand knowledge of student enrollments during the late 1970s.

Presidency and Allies Respond

Reacting to the allegations, aides to President Tinubu and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) cited major flaws in Pearse’s narrative.

Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, highlighted the timeline mismatch, noting that a lecturer who joined CSU six years after a student had already graduated could not authoritatively claim personal knowledge of that student’s presence on campus.

“Facts are always scary to con-artists,” Olusegun noted, emphasizing that individual faculty members do not possess administrative ownership of an entire university’s historical database across different decades.

Furthermore, APC chieftains have demanded that Pearse retract his statement or face legal action for defamation, describing the allegations as politically motivated rhetoric aimed at heating up the polity ahead of future elections.

While certificate controversies have repeatedly resurfaced in public debate, legal investigations and past disclosures by Chicago State University have maintained that President Tinubu was indeed a registered student who completed his degree at the institution in 1979.

As public debate continues over the incident, Pearse’s attempt to present himself as the ultimate authority on the matter has instead turned the spotlight back onto his own timeline, leaving him to address the glaring inconsistencies in his claims.

 

For further context and analysis regarding public statements and legal responses to President Tinubu’s academic record controversies, you can watch Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse’s statement on Chicago State University records, which details the allegations and political reactions surrounding the issue.

 

CSU CERTIFICATE CONTROVERSY: How Ex-Lecturer Inadvertently Indicted Himself Over Claims Against President Tinubu