Chicago State University Finally Releases Academic Records of President Tinubu To Atiku

Chicago State University (CSU) has finally released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar on Monday.

CSU complied with the order after the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, gave the order last week.

In response to Abubakar’s third request, specifically for copies of the diplomas issued in 1997, CSU affirmed that the certificates align with the format of the Tinubu replacement dated June 27, 1997.

“The documents responsive to this request which CSU, after diligent search, has been able to locate are produced herewith and Bates labelled CSU 0008 through CSU 0010. The students’ names on these diplomas have been redacted for privacy reasons.

“CSU is also producing, Bates labelled as CSU 0011 and 0012, diplomas produced for other CSU students (with their names redacted for privacy) which match the format of the Tinubu replacement dated June 27, 1997,” the university wrote.

The university also fulfilled Abubakar’s demand for several samples of diplomas awarded in 1979 to other students.

Tinubu, who previously claimed to have lost his original certificates, presented a replacement for his CSU diploma to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 presidential election.

The newly released CSU documents indicate that Tinubu was referred to as “Mr” in what appears to be an admission letter. Notably, he indicated “male” on the undergraduate admissions application form. However, some transcripts circulating online indicate “F,” suggesting “female.”

While the 1997 diplomas released by CSU resemble what Tinubu submitted to INEC in terms of font and logo, there is a discrepancy in the date. CSU attributed this inconsistency to a clerical error in its affidavit.

On September 19, US Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert granted the request to release Tinubu’s academic records within 24 hours.

Despite Tinubu’s appeal against the order, Federal Judge Nancy Maldonado overruled the objections and instructed CSU to disclose the president’s academic records.

In response to Abubakar’s request, CSU stated that it couldn’t locate a copy of the original 1979 diploma issued to Tinubu, as it doesn’t typically retain copies of student diplomas.

The university, however, released redacted diplomas of other students from 1979 as evidence of Tinubu’s graduation from the institution in that year.