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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
President Bola Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Afolabi, has explained why the president’s certificate indicated ‘F,’ which implied female.
Speaking on Channels TV programme, ‘Politics Today,’ on Thursday night, Afolabi said that a mix up at Chicago State University was responsible for the discrepancy.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who is challenging Tinubu’s victory in the February 25, 2023 had filed a case at the District Court, Northern Illinois in the United States, which recently ordered the Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s academic records to him.
When asked why the President’s certificate carries ‘F’, Afolabi, said: “The transcript that was provided by Southwest College indicated F. It was clear. All of the other particulars did match information of President Bola Tinubu. Now, the Registrar was interviewed on why the discrepancies. He said the person applying for the school ticked the box of a male not a female and when the admission letter was issued it was issued to Mr Tinubu.
“When the question was put to Dr West Brown, he said it is not unusual for universities to mix up. He (West Brown) has been to several universities. It is possible.”
On the discrepancies on the signatures on the certificate, Afolabi said that certificates were not issued at the time of graduation, until one applied for them.
He added that the person who issued the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC might not have been in the university in 1979.