Peter Obi, APC Clash Over President Tinubu’s Identity Controversy

In a heated verbal exchange, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) found themselves embroiled in a dispute over the alleged identity controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu. Obi urged President Tinubu to clarify his identity, while the APC maintained that there was no identity crisis involving the President.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has reported that there is no evidence to suggest that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Obi, during a briefing in Abuja, called on President Tinubu to personally address Nigerians and answer 14 critical questions regarding his identity, including his name, nationality, place of birth, parentage, educational history, and more. Obi emphasized the importance of transparency regarding the President’s true identity to avoid international embarrassment.y

Responding to Obi’s call, the APC strongly refuted any identity crisis involving President Tinubu. The party criticized Obi for echoing what they considered “a script authored by Atiku Abubakar” and labeled his remarks as “broken voice notes.”

The BBC’s Global Disinformation Team conducted an investigation and found no evidence that the certificate President Tinubu submitted to INEC was forged. Atiku Abubakar sought to challenge the President’s academic records and obtained his academic records from the Chicago State University (CSU) in a bid to overturn the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

However, the BBC’s investigation revealed that there was no basis to support the claim that the diploma submitted by Tinubu to INEC was forged. The CSU provided several diplomas issued between 1979 and 2003, and an analysis confirmed that the discrepancies in the appearance of the diploma were due to it being reissued in the 1990s. The BBC also noted that the diploma submitted by Tinubu contained the phrase “with honors,” which was consistent with the CSU’s documentation.

In response to the BBC report, Atiku Abubakar’s Special Assistant on Public Communications criticized the BBC, calling their report a “hatchet job.” He expressed disappointment in the BBC’s approach and questioned their standards in reporting. He emphasized that the BBC’s report failed to address critical questions regarding the timing and authenticity of the documents and accused the BBC of bias.

The controversy surrounding President Tinubu’s identity continues to be a contentious issue, with political figures, media outlets, and fact-checkers involved in the ongoing debate.