Alleged certificate forgery: Nigeria now wears outlook of cheats worldwide, says Sowunmi

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, on Thursday zeroed in on the controversy trailing the certificate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the development portrays the country as a nation of cheats.

Recall the PDP had claimed that Tinubu forged his credentials submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 election, a development which forced the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to demand the Nigerian leader’s certificate from the Chicago State University (CSU).

While Atiku had addressed the press on Thursday, doubling down on his claims about Tinubu’s academic records, Sowunmi wondered why INEC did not disqualify the former Lagos State governor over the development.

“We have been de-robed,” he said on a national tv program on Thursday.

“People in England are telling me now that nurses are going to have to do their nursing qualification examination because we have now become a nation of cheaters. Do you know why? We have now become a nation of duplicitous people.

“Even in the backend of some countries, the governments are whispering behind our back,” he added.

During the interview, he took a swipe at the stance of the CSU regarding the President’s certificate submitted to INEC. According to him, the American institution should bury its head in shame.

“Must we now get to a position in the world where we are sending thousands of emails to one institution to ask for the same record that could have been produced?

“Did you read the deposition? Even the school itself must bury its head in shame. The school has a right to say ‘This is totally the position we have and be unambiguous about it.’ They can’t write that the deposition in a manner.”