Kenneth Okonkwo Challenges Tinubu Over Academic Records

(Kenneth Okonkwo. Photo Credit: Arise Tv)

Kenneth Okonkwo, a prominent member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has asserted that President Bola Tinubu is ineligible to serve as president of Nigeria due to his failure to present the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with his elementary and secondary school diplomas.

Okonkwo accused Tinubu of adhering to Nigerian law regarding university admissions requirements.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had published the academic credentials and other details of all presidential candidates set to contest the 2027 elections.

In the document, President Bola Tinubu was listed as having presented only his university certificate, with his primary and secondary school certificates absent from the submission.

This has generated widespread concern among Nigerians, reviving questions about his educational qualifications.

Reacting, Okonkwo took to social media to argue that Nigerian law does not permit anyone to gain university admission without five credits at the ordinary level.

He contended that Tinubu’s claim to eligibility for the presidency, based on a foreign university certificate which the institution had publicly denied issuing, could not stand without a secondary school certificate or its equivalent, and that this disqualified him from the presidency.

He further argued that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat because of what he described as judicial recklessness, claiming that despite repeated warnings from the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council, some judges have acted independently, interpreting laws in ways not sanctioned by the legislature.

He alleged that through what he called perverse judgments, such judges have effectively taken over powers that belong to the executive and legislative arms of government.