The Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] last week released President Bola Tinubu’s educational documents and those of other presidential candidates ahead the 2027 general elections scheduled for January 16th 2027.
The forms for the President show he listed no primary or secondary school attended, but included his university qualification and NYSC certificate.
So, from the form alone, there is no declared primary and secondary institution attended and no documented qualification.
The omission has rekindled public interest in the controversy surrounding his educational credentials, which has trailed his political journey since 1999.
Nigerians, political activists and opposition groups argue that the blank spaces contradict affidavits submitted by Tinubu during his 1999 and 2003 Lagos gubernatorial runs, where specific primary and secondary institutions were originally named.
They label this change as an attempt to avoid institutional scrutiny and tribunal challenges.
According to them, such omissions naturally raise legitimate questions like,
Where did the applicant attend primary school?
Which secondary school was attended?
What secondary qualification was obtained?
Which institution awarded the B.Sc.?
What was the B. Sc. discipline?
Why are two educational years recorded as “0000”?
And what supporting evidence accompanied the declaration?
Critics also pointed out that there are three different names on three different official documents submitted to INEC:
• INEC Form: Tinubu Bola Ahmed
• NYSC Certificate: Tinubu Bola Adekunle
• CSU Certificate: Bola A. Tinubu
Responding to the criticism emanating from the upload of the documents, INEC explained that under the Electoral Act 2026, its responsibility is to publish candidates’ personal particulars and supporting documents for public scrutiny, while any challenge to the authenticity or adequacy of those documents is a matter for the courts.
The Commission’s deputy director of voter education and publicity, Wilfred Osilama Ifogah, stated this yesterday while responding to inquiries on the publication of candidates’ credentials for the 2027 general elections from a national publication.
“It’s not the responsibility of the commission to verify the authenticity of credentials of candidates,” Ifogah said.
Asked whether the INEC authenticates certificates before making them public in view of past controversies over candidates’ qualifications, the spokesman referred to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
“The publication is done so that the public can scrutinise it,” Ifogah emphasised.