Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, says violence may become the future of Nigeria’s democracy if politicians seeking elective positions are allowed to present forged certificates during elections.

“The ability for individuals to present forged certificates for election sends a troubling message to our society,” the politician stated in a statement on Sunday. “If we continue down this path, violence may become the future of our democracy.”

Mr Obi stated that the non-recognition of qualification, certificate and credibility as necessary requirements for candidates seeking elective offices further highlights the plummeting leadership standards in the country.

He added, “In the current state of Nigeria, what can we expect when leadership standards have plummeted to the extent that qualification, certification, and credibility are no longer deemed necessary for public office?”

The African Democratic Congress chieftain further condemned attacks on the party office in Bakassi, noting the development reflected how dangerously low the country’s democratic standards had fallen.

“What occurred at the ADC office in Bakassi, Cross River state, is not merely an attack on a political party; it is an attack on democracy itself. 

“When thugs can storm a party office and destroy property without facing arrest, it reflects how dangerously low our democratic standards have fallen,” Mr Obi stated.

The politician reiterated that fraud and violence cannot create true leadership, adding that they will only result in chaos, which will ultimately affect our children and us.

President Bola Tinubu presented a forged degree certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission when he filed his paperwork to lead Nigeria in June 2022, Peoples Gazette can report based on the testimony of the institution he arrogated, introducing a new but potentially fatal front in the ongoing battle to oust the Nigerian leader for his documented misdeeds from years gone by.

The official repudiation of Mr Tinubu’s certificate—the only academic qualification he presented to the electoral office—came at a deposition of school officials on Tuesday in Chicago. An expanded transcript of the session is still being processed, but The Gazette has learnt about what has perhaps been the most crucial expectation of Nigerians: How the school would characterise Mr Tinubu’s certificate under oath and penalty of perjury. 

Caleb Westberg, the registrar at Chicago State University, said Mr Tinubu’s certificate, dated June 22, 1979, and tendered to INEC on June 17, 2022, was not issued by the school and its administrators could, therefore, not be able to authenticate its source, The Gazette learnt. 

Mr Westberg, CSU’s registrar since November 2020, also said, during the deposition that lasted about 5.5 hours, that Mr Tinubu did not apply for a replacement certificate, nor was he ever issued one.

The categorical statement capped a successful outcome for the monthslong legal strategy of Atiku Abubakar, Mr Tinubu’s main opponent, who approached the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to ascertain the authenticity or otherwise of the document. Federal district judge Nancy Maldonado granted a final order for CSU administrators to turn over all documents relating to Mr Tinubu to the school and also sit down for deposition by an adversarial team of lawyers deployed by Mr Abubakar.