The Chicago State University has said it is unable to provide clarity on the primary and secondary schools attended by Bola Tinubu, a presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Lauren Finch, a spokeswoman for Chicago State University, said Mr Tinubu’s academic records are covered by American privacy regulations.

“We have checked with our legal department and we cannot give you more than the information we have already provided,” Ms Finch told Peoples Gazette on Tuesday morning. “Mr Tinubu attended our school and graduated on June 22, 1979. We can only say when he came in and when he graduated.”

The Chicago State University had confirmed Mr Tinubu as its student, graduating with a degree in business and administration on June 22, 1979.

The university responded to emails by The Gazette amid the uncertainty about the former Lagos state governor’s educational past.

Last week, Mr Tinubu disclosed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he did not attend primary and secondary schools.

The disclosure was made via an affidavit submitted by Mr Tinubu to the electoral body as part of his eligibility filings for the 2023 presidential elections.

The documents reported by The Gazette revealed two blank spaces when asked what establishments provided Mr Tinubu with his primary and secondary education. However, Mr Tinubu noted his degree in business and administration in 1979 received from the Chicago State University.

The former Lagos governor claimed he was on self-exile from October 1994 to October 1998 and that his credentials had been stolen from his home before he returned.

“When I returned I discovered that all my property, including all the documents relating to my qualifications and my certificates in respect of paragraph three above, were looted by unknown persons,” said Mr Tinubu. 

The current claims made by the APC chieftain are at odds with previous declarations made by him. In 1999 and 2003, when Mr Tinubu ran for office as a governorship candidate in Lagos, he claimed both times that he attended primary and secondary schools.

He said he attended St Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, between 1958 to 1964; while his secondary education was at Government College, Ibadan, between 1965 to 1968. From Ibadan, Mr Tinubu said he went to Richard Daley College, Chicago, from 1969 to 1971.