- Pro-Govt Group: El-Rufai Has No Case, Just making Noise…
By Abiola Olawale
In a stunning revelation, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has claimed that several high-ranking members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including himself, were aware of alleged controversies surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic credentials from Chicago State University but chose to support his presidential candidacy regardless.
Speaking during an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai, who recently defected from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said he and other APC bigwigs hoped that Tinubu would replicate his “achievements” in Lagos at the national level.
He said: “We all knew about his issues in Chicago. But we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, it was worth the gamble. We were wrong.”
The New Diplomat reports that the “Chicago certificate saga” has been a contentious controversy since Tinubu emerged as a political heavyweight.
Critics, including opposition figures, have repeatedly questioned the authenticity of the president’s academic credentials, alleging inconsistencies in documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during past elections.
However, Tinubu had severally maintained that he graduated from Chicago State University and that there are no issues with his certificates.
According to some, including a pro- government body, El-Rufai is simply bringing these issues up now because he has left the APC and fallen out with Tinubu.
