Peter Obi of the Labour Party says the lingering controversy over President Bola Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate forgery portrays Nigerians in a bad light in the international communities. He urged Mr Tinubu to “reintroduce” himself to Nigerians by revealing his “real name.”

“Uninformed outsiders now see Nigerians as fraudsters, certificate forgers or identity thieves. The controversy is unnecessary just as the implicit global embarrassment could be avoided, Mr Obi said. “In my opinion, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself this.”

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Obi charged President Bola Tinubu to come out clean on the lingering certificate scandal, telling Nigerians the truth about his identity and certificates.

“Bola Tinubu should reintroduce himself to the nation he governs and tell the nation who he is, where he is from, where he went to school, and his real name. It’s a simple task that will take only a few minutes. And he must perform this task immediately,” Mr Obi said. 

Decades of controversy over Mr Tinubu’s Chicago State University certificate assumed a new turn penultimate Tuesday as the U.S.-based institution, in a deposition, revealed Mr Tinubu presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

CSU’s deposition sparked reactions amongst Nigerians, with many calling for Mr Tinubu’s ouster in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

In August, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party approached the U.S. court to compel CSU to release Mr Tinubu’s academic record, a controversy shrouded in secrecy for decades. 

Mr Tinubu pushed back, praying the court not to compel CSU to release all his academic records because it would cause him irreparable damages. Judge Nancy Maldonado, however, compelled CSU to release Mr Tinubu’s record, leading to the deposition that exposed Mr Tinubu’s forgery.

Mr Abubakar, in a world conference last Thursday, said his pursuit for justice to save Nigeria’s image and will not back down until the Supreme Court declares its verdict on the matter. 

Mr Abubakar has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court with the new evidence of certificate forgery from CSU’s deposition.