Ndume to opposition: Focus on issues, not Tinubu’s certificate

Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has urged opposition parties to focus on issues and present alternative policies that can win the confidence of Nigerians, rather than engage in what he described as smear campaigns against President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Ndume, a former Senate Leader, made the call in a statement on Monday while reacting to renewed controversy over the president’s secondary school certificate.

The lawmaker argued that Mr Tinubu had fulfilled the constitutional requirements for election as president, describing the demand for his secondary school certificate as unnecessary and distracting from the issues Nigerians should be debating ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Citing Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution, Mr Ndume said the law prescribed a minimum educational requirement for presidential candidates but did not make possession or presentation of a particular secondary school certificate the only means of satisfying the requirement.

He quoted the relevant provision as stating that: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if—

“(d) he has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent.”

According to him, the opposition should concentrate on scrutinising the president’s policies and presenting credible alternatives rather than repeatedly revisiting an issue he said had already been addressed through legal challenges arising from the 2023 presidential election.

Mr Ndume said opposition presidential candidates should tell Nigerians what they would do differently if elected in 2027.

“The narrative around his certificate, in my opinion, is distracting.

“What opposition parties’ presidential candidates and their spokespersons should focus on are their alternative economic policies, if they have any.

“What can they do better than President Tinubu?

“They should come out and tell Nigerians.

“It is his economic policies and how his administration has been able to tackle insecurity with landmark success that they should try and interrogate.

“He has been in office for over three years now. So, how can the narrative around his certificates be the focus of his challengers?” he said.

The senator urged opposition parties to raise the quality of political debate as the 2027 elections approach, saying Nigerians deserved discussions centred on policies, governance and competing visions for the country.

“I think as we progress in the campaigns, the opposition should elevate the discourse beyond the mundane,” he said.

Quoting former United States First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Mr Ndume added: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”