Paul Ibe, the media aide to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, along with PDP youth leader Timothy Osadolor, have alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has abandoned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu due to controversies surrounding his academic records.

It's worth noting that former vice president Atiku Abubakar initiated legal action in a US court in Chicago to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu's academic records. Tinubu's credentials indicate he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, and management.

Nevertheless, there have been allegations of inconsistencies regarding Tinubu's certificate. Abubakar's lawsuit aims to obtain Tinubu's files from CSU to resolve the academic background dispute and provide evidence for the election petition tribunal.

Tinubu's defense, presented by his lawyers Oluwole Afolabi and Christopher Carmichael, attributes the discrepancies to a clerical error on his certificate, creating the appearance of discrepancies due to an incorrect date.

The APC's Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, commented on the situation in the US court, stating that the ruling party doesn't object to the PDP candidate's actions as long as he adheres to proper procedures.

He said, “If Chicago State University says Atiku has to go to court, I don’t know what their law says about that. But in Nigeria, I know the law gives freedom of information and gives people the right to seek information, especially the one that ought to be in the public domain. I don’t know the situation in the US and what is legally correct about it.

“But Atiku has the right to ask for information pertaining to his opponent, provided he does not go through it the wrong way. What is the wrong way can best be answered by those who are conversant with the law.”

But in an interview, Paul Ibe said the position of the APC showed that it had abandoned Tinubu due to the many controversies surrounding him.

Ibe said, “We are not surprised that the party said they cannot have issues with us. This is an indication that they have abandoned him. We are talking of a man whose identity is enmeshed in controversy. But the truth is, who won’t be tired?

“Everything about the man is shrouded in controversy. He claimed that he attended Government College, Ibadan, but he never stepped foot in that school. The primary school Tinubu claimed he attended is non-existent.

“Now, he is saying that the 156-year-old Chicago State University made a clerical error in his academic records. If you are carrying a certificate  with an error, that certificate is fake. So, he is admitting that he is carrying a fake certificate.”

On his part, a member of the PDP’s National Executive Committee, Osadolor, said the APC director of publicity should be commended for his position.

“He knows the truth but doesn’t want to be quoted. Their principal’s academic records are shrouded in mystery, and he knows the truth. But because it is not convenient for him to stay on the side of the truth, he chose to say he won’t join issues with Atiku,” he said.