A former lecturer at Chicago State University, Adedeji Doherty, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu never attended the American institution, reopening a controversy that dominated the 2023 presidential election and subsequent legal battles. Doherty made the claim during an interview on News Central TV, stating that he worked at the university between 1985 and 1990 and was the director of the programme Tinubu allegedly attended.
Doherty said his position gave him direct knowledge of the academic records and that the president’s name was not among those who attended the programme. “I used to be a lecturer at Chicago State University. For five years. I was the director of the programme that Tinubu said he attended at Chicago State University. I was at Chicago State University from 1985 to 1990,” he said. He further claimed that around 1999, individuals seeking information about Tinubu’s academic history were directed to him, and he provided documents relating to the matter.
The former lecturer also accused Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa of misleading Nigerians by defending the president’s academic claims. “The education minister works for the president. The education minister is lying,” Doherty said. He alleged that documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission contained names of schools the president never attended. Doherty warned that the controversy could eventually attract international legal attention and made serious allegations against the president and other public officials.
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Doherty’s allegations have reopened a debate that has shadowed Tinubu since he first ran for president. During the 2023 election cycle, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar went to a US court to compel Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s records, triggering fierce debate over the documents, identity discrepancies and what was filed with INEC.
However, Chicago State University has previously confirmed in court filings that Bola A. Tinubu attended and graduated from the institution. The university’s official record stands in direct contradiction to Doherty’s claims, and Doherty has not produced documentary proof in the clip cited to support his assertions. Neither President Tinubu nor Minister Alausa has responded to the latest allegations.
The controversy now rests on a direct conflict between a former lecturer’s personal testimony and the university’s official records. For a president whose academic history has been the subject of intense scrutiny and legal action, Doherty’s intervention ensures that the questions surrounding Tinubu’s past will follow him into the 2027 campaign.
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