Tinubu certificate saga: “No time to waste on frivolous issues”, says Minister

In response to the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s certificate from Chicago State University (CSU) in the United States, Yusuf Tuggar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has stated that the present administration doesn’t have time to waste on what he called ‘frivolous issues.’

Speaking on the Sunrise Daily program of Channels TV on Wednesday, Tuggar stated that the certificate saga has not hindered President Tinubu’s recent international engagements.

He also described the matter as a mere distraction from the opposition, and the administration would not be paying any attention to it.

According to Tuggar, the President has held meetings with world leaders despite the controversy, and the issue has not come up for discussion in any of his recent international engagements.

He said,

• “There is a tendency to always try to distract and detain people on such frivolous issues as opposed to facing the major issues of development. We don’t have time to waste on that.
• “Nobody is wasting time about certificate qualification for somebody who has been a governor of a state, served two terms, and has been on the national stage as a politician.
• “You remember that (former) President Buhari had to go through the same thing, where people were questioning whether he went to secondary school or not. Someone who had classmates, was the captain; and was a head boy”.

According to him, Nigerians should concentrate on the economic direction of the country.

Continuing, he stated that

• “Considering the economic challenges, we are facing – we shouldn’t be wasting time about whether some certificate, whether a T is missing or an I haven’t been dotted that shouldn’t be our primary focus at the moment.”

Backstory

Earlier, Nairametrics reported  that the Chicago State University has made public the academic records of President Tinubu in response to a legal request from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.

Granting Atiku’s request, Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert ordered the release of Tinubu’s academic records on September 19. However, the President has since sought a review of this order.

Tinubu’s legal team asserted that the documents would hold no relevance in Atiku’s appeal against Tinubu at the Supreme Court and, therefore, requested a reconsideration of the judgment.

However, Justice Nancy Maldonado, a federal judge, overruled Tinubu’s objections and ordered the CSU to release the President’s academic records.

The academic records were released on Monday by Chicago State University following the order given by the US Court.

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