The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that President Bola Tinubu's primary and secondary school certificates are missing from the credentials it published for the 2027 presidential election because the commission only made public the documents each candidate submitted.
Speaking anonymously to Sunday PUNCH, a senior INEC official said the commission lacks the authority to demand, question, or supplement the materials submitted by candidates. The official explained that the publication is intended to allow the public to raise objections about any credentials.
INEC's Stance on Candidate Submissions
“We only published what was submitted to the commission. We don't have any authority to question those ones. I mean, our own is just to publish so that anybody who has an objection can raise issues with what we've published,” the official said.
This explanation comes amid mounting controversy over Tinubu's academic records, with critics questioning the absence of his school certificates from INEC's published list.
ADC Chieftain Petitions European Commission
While INEC offered its clarification, pressure on Tinubu intensified from another direction. On Friday, Kalu Agu, a legal counsel and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), traveled to Brussels, Belgium, to submit a petition against the President to the European Commission.
Agu alleged that Tinubu presented false academic credentials to INEC in connection with the constitutional requirements for the 2027 election and also failed to disclose the primary and secondary schools he attended in documents filed with the commission. He urged the European Union to intervene over what he called an alleged subversion of Nigeria's constitutional order.
A video shared on X by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's media aide, Paul Ibe, showed Agu handing the petition to the European Commission.
Atiku Files Suit at Federal High Court
Separately, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the ADC, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday seeking Tinubu's disqualification from the 2027 presidential race. Atiku personally appeared at the court registry to depose to an affidavit backing the case.
The suit, brought by Atiku and the ADC, relies on Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, along with relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. Section 137(1)(j) bars any person from contesting the presidency if they have presented a forged certificate to INEC.
According to Atiku's affidavit, the NYSC discharge certificate allegedly submitted by Tinubu to INEC bears the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle” rather than the President's full name, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” The plaintiffs are asking the court to disqualify Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 election if the allegation is proven.
Atiku argued that all presidential candidates should be held to the same standard as ordinary Nigerians when it comes to verifying their qualifications. “The Presidency is not an immunity certificate against constitutional scrutiny,” he said. He also called on INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by making the relevant electoral records available to the court.
Legal and Political Implications
Legit.ng earlier reported that Atiku walked into the Registry of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, August 14, 2026, to personally swear to an affidavit backing the lawsuit. The case seeks to bar President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) from participating in the 2027 presidential election.
These developments signal escalating legal and political challenges for Tinubu's re-election bid, with the outcome of the court case and the European Commission petition potentially shaping the 2027 electoral landscape.
