Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has called on opposition parties to focus on President Bola Tinubu’s performance in office rather than his academic credentials as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ndume, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the remarks in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, describing the renewed scrutiny of Tinubu’s certificates as a distraction from the key issues that should shape the forthcoming election campaign.
“The narrative around his certificate is distracting. What opposition presidential candidates should be doing is to tell Nigerians what they have to offer. What are their alternative economic policies? What can they do better than President Tinubu?
“They should interrogate his economic policies and how his government has handled insecurity. The President has been in office for over three years now. So why should his certificates be the main talking point?” Ndume said in a Vanguard report.
His comments followed renewed concerns among opposition figures after checks showed that the columns for primary and secondary schools were left blank in the EC9 form submitted by Tinubu.
The President listed a B.Sc in Business Administration from Chicago State University, obtained in 1979, and attached his degree certificate and NYSC discharge certificate.
Ndume, the senator representing Borno South, however, said Tinubu had met the educational requirement stipulated by the Constitution.
Quoting Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution, he said, “The Constitution only sets a minimum educational qualification. It does not say it must be a secondary school certificate.”
The section provides that a presidential candidate must be “educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”
Ndume also said the issue of Tinubu’s qualification had already been settled by the courts following the 2023 presidential election.
The former Senate Leader urged opposition parties to raise the level of political debate as the 2027 elections approach.
“As we move deeper into campaigns, the opposition should elevate the discourse beyond pettiness,” he said.
Ndume added, “As Eleanor Roosevelt once put it, great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
