The National Democratic Coalition, NADECO USA has called on the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University to thoroughly investigate the alleged discrepancies in the identity and certificate of President Bola Tinubu.
The pro-democracy group based in Washington, D.C. in the United States, said the investigation became imperative as the world needs to know why President Tinubu habitually goes to court to stop the release of his documents if he does not have anything to hide.
NADECO in a statement on Tuesday stated that Chicago State University in response to a deposition stated that the diploma that Mr Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not issued by them.
It said at the same time, CSU insisted that Tinubu graduated from the school and presented a transcript of results purporting to be that of the Nigerian president.
The group said, “If so, who issued the diploma and where did Mr Tinubu obtain the diploma from? Why did CSU not issue a diploma certificate to a student the school claimed graduated from CSU? Could Chicago State University have issued a Certificate to a student who has not met or satisfied the required credits for graduation?”
Noting that the authenticity of the diploma has thrown Nigeria into a political upheaval ever since the conclusion of the 2023 presidential election in February, NADECO said Nigerian people would like an answer to the question posited.
It noted that clarifications should be made on the pertinent portions of the transcripts of the deposition of CSU Registrar, Mr. Caleb Westberg, where the University authority admitted that Tinubu with Social Security number: 231-06-0595, who attended CSU had completed a total of 105 credit hours and needed to have completed an additional 15 credit hours in order to graduate.
It said, “Those classes included but were not limited to English 222 and Mathematics.
“So, did Bola A. Tinubu eventually complete those 15 credit hours, and if he did, when did he take them? Additionally, transcripts from South West College that enabled Mr Tinubu to gain admission as a transfer student, bear a Social Security number different from Mr Tinubu’s Social Security number.
“The transcripts further show that the gender of the applicant was female, whereas, Mr Tinubu who supposedly graduated from CSU, is a male.
“Again, the gender of the transferring student was stated as that of a female and therefore, it has become necessary to clarify why it is so, upon graduation, the gender has changed to male. Mr. Tinubu seems to be associated with two Social Security numbers.”
Based on the discrepancies, NADECO asked the Board of Trustees of the University to “thoroughly investigate the bizarre circumstances regarding the issues raised”.
It said, “That the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) should also initiate an investigation regarding the same concerns raised.”
NADECO further demanded a clarification from the FBI about a letter it purportedly issued in response to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) inquiry as to whether Mr Tinubu attended Chicago State University (CSU).
“According to the letter from the FBI office, Mr Tinubu did neither attend nor graduate from CSU. Kindly reconcile the CSU position that Mr Tinubu attended CSU versus yours which states that he did not,” it said.
The statement partly read: “NADECO USA would like the FBI to find out if Mr Tinubu had in the past several years made any donations to Chicago State University (CSU) directly or through third parties. This question is important to the extent that, we would like to know if there were some monetary or other inducements made to CSU aimed at securing certain privileges from CSU.
“NADECO USA would also like the FBI and the Social Security Administration to determine how a Social Security number belonging to another person began to be used by Mr. Tinubu. The issue is, whether it is a matter of identity theft or, was the original owner of the number aware that her Social Security number was being used by another person. If SS#: 231-06-0595 is not President Tinubu’s, what is his true Social Security number and under what name is it under?
“Who actually owns the Social Security number, 231-06-0595, written on the transcripts that the Chicago State University registrar used as an exhibit that was attached to the deposition given under oath?”
“We, as citizens of Nigeria from all over the world, are asking and requesting the United States University Accreditation Body and Chicago State University Board of Trustee to look into this matter in order to clear the good reputation of Chicago State University (CSU),” it added
The group, however, appealed to investigative institutions in the US to help Nigeria do a thorough and complete background check on Mr Bola A. Tinubu, describing him as “an enigma that has consistently fought to hide his true identity.”
It noted that it was in the interest of Nigerian national security and global security since Tinubu is now the President of Nigeria, for the world to know that the man who presides over the affairs of the biggest democracy and economy in Africa, “is not a criminal, a certificate forger, or an identity thief.”