The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Major Agbo, has advised Nigerians questioning President Bola Tinubu’s educational qualifications to pursue legal action rather than continue public debates over the issue.
Speaking in an interview with Punch, Agbo said the controversy surrounding the President’s credentials should be resolved through the courts, stressing that Nigeria’s electoral laws already specify the minimum educational qualification required for anyone seeking the office of president.
According to him, the law recognises qualifications that are not below the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) level, making it unnecessary to rely on public speculation to determine a candidate’s eligibility.
“The truth is that the position of the law states that the minimum qualification is secondary school, that is either GCE, SSCE or whatever they call it,” Agbo said.
He explained that under the law, candidates are permitted to declare any educational qualification beginning from the First School Leaving Certificate up to higher academic qualifications such as university degrees.
Agbo noted that Tinubu’s submission of a degree certificate from Chicago State University should be viewed within the framework of the law governing elective offices in Nigeria.
The NNPP chairman argued that if citizens want to establish whether the President attended primary or secondary school, the appropriate step is to seek a judicial determination.
“If what INEC has published now is his certificate from Chicago University and people want to know whether he went through primary and secondary school, the right thing to do in a democracy is to ask the courts to help find out,” he stated.
He criticised the practice of repeatedly subjecting public officials to what he described as “the court of public opinion” without pursuing a binding legal resolution.
“For how long shall we continue to put our public officers through the court of public opinion? Again, how has that helped us in the past?” Agbo asked.
Reiterating his position, Agbo said every Nigerian has the constitutional right to challenge the credentials of a political officeholder or aspiring leader, but insisted that such disputes should be handled through the judiciary.
“Every Nigerian has the right to sue anybody who is a leader or aspires to be a leader. If he declares that he has a certificate from Chicago University, the law still covers him,” he said.
He added that the relevant legal provisions require candidates to declare “anything that is not less than SSCE,” arguing that INEC acted within the law in publishing the President’s nomination documents.
Agbo therefore urged critics who remain dissatisfied with the documents released by the electoral commission to approach a competent court for interpretation instead of continuing the argument through political statements and media commentary.
“So, if what was published is just a degree certificate, the right thing for anybody who wants to contest it to do is to approach the courts,” he said.
“Let’s stop dragging our leaders in the court of public opinion. It will not help us.”
His comments come amid renewed public discussion over President Tinubu’s educational credentials following the publication of candidates’ personal particulars by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 election cycle.
