Tinubu Never Attended Chicago State University – Ex-Lecturer Reveals

A former lecturer at Chicago State University (CSU), Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu never attended the American institution.

Pearse made the allegation during a recent interview with News Central TV, where he claimed to have personal knowledge of Tinubu’s academic records because he previously worked at the university.

The former lecturer, who said he served at Chicago State University for five years between 1985 and 1990, also claimed that he was the director of the programme Tinubu allegedly studied.

“I know that he did not even attend Chicago State University,” Pearse said when asked what he knew about the President that could affect his chances in the 2027 election.

When the interviewer reminded him that the Minister of Education had confirmed Tinubu’s attendance at the institution, Pearse dismissed the minister’s position, accusing him of misleading Nigerians.

“The Minister of Education works for the President. He is lying, just as the President himself is a bona fide professional liar,” he said.

Pearse further disputed the explanation that Tinubu was homeschooled, insisting that the President had previously submitted the names of schools he allegedly attended in official documents.

“But that is not what he said. That is not what Tinubu himself said. Look at the records he has been submitting to INEC. He never said he was homeschooled. He gave names of schools which he never attended,” he alleged.

The former lecturer said he had previously been reluctant to speak publicly about the matter but decided to disclose his alleged knowledge because of the country’s political situation.

He also claimed that he was approached around 1999 when supporters of former Lagos State governorship candidate Funsho Williams were searching for information about Tinubu’s academic records.

According to Pearse, he already had the information and provided it to those who approached him. However, he said he advised them against making the President’s educational background the focus of their political campaign.

“I gave them the information, but I told them this is not how you win an election. Campaign against this guy and his performance. That’s what you do,” he said.

He maintained that Tinubu never attended Chicago State University, adding, “He knows that I know.”

Pearse also criticised the Tinubu administration, citing rising poverty, unemployment and insecurity as evidence of its alleged failure.

“If he is a genius, then he is a genius at rigging elections. That is what he is,” he added.

The interview has attracted reactions from political figures, including Babatunde Gbadamosi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) deputy governorship candidate, who publicly expressed support for Pearse’s claims.

In a reaction to the interview, Gbadamosi said he knew Pearse personally and considered him a man of integrity.

“I know Dr Pearse VERY WELL. I know him to be a man of integrity and not a liar,” he wrote.

He added that Pearse had privately discussed the matter with him before making the allegations publicly.

Gbadamosi also questioned Tinubu’s reported secondary school history, claiming that the President did not graduate from Government College Lagos in 1970, as the institution was not established until 1974.

He said he attended the school from 1978 and witnessed the graduation of its first set of students in 1979.

“I was a student there from 1978, and I witnessed the graduation of the first set in 1979. Tinubu was not there,” he claimed.

The ADC chieftain further alleged that Tinubu did not attend Government College Ibadan, citing information he said he received from people familiar with the institution’s history.

Gbadamosi subsequently criticised the President’s administration, linking the alleged discrepancies in his educational history to what he described as questionable governance.

“If his educational history is this opaque, why are you surprised at his buccaneering style of governance? Why are you surprised at the wholesale borrowing and looting of loans?” he asked.

He added that Nigerians must bring an end to what he described as brigandage in government in the 2027 elections.

However, Pearse’s allegations contradict official records and sworn testimony previously released by Chicago State University.

Following a legal dispute initiated by former presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in the United States, the university released Tinubu’s academic records in October 2023 after a court order.

CSU Registrar Caleb Westberg testified under oath that Tinubu attended the institution between August 1977 and June 1979 and graduated on June 22, 1979, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting.

The university also confirmed that Tinubu graduated with honours.

The records released by CSU, however, generated controversy over discrepancies in some of the documents, including differences in personal details and questions surrounding the replacement certificate Tinubu submitted to Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

A BBC investigation published in October 2023 found no evidence that Tinubu forged his diploma, explaining that differences in certificate designs could be linked to changes in the university’s replacement certificate templates. The investigation also addressed a gender marker discrepancy in one of the records.