Ex-CSU Lecturer Pearse Accuses Education Minister of Misleading Nigerians Over Tinubu’s Academic Records

A fresh controversy has erupted over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s educational qualifications following allegations by Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, a former lecturer at Chicago State University (CSU), who has accused the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, of misleading Nigerians about the President’s academic history.

Pearse, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Lagos State, made the allegations during an appearance on News Central Television’s Breakfast Central, where he challenged the minister’s recent defence of Tinubu’s educational credentials and insisted that the President never attended the American university.

The former lecturer, who said he worked at Chicago State University between 1985 and 1990, claimed that he was the director of the academic programme Tinubu reportedly attended, arguing that his position at the institution gave him knowledge of the programme and the circumstances surrounding the President’s alleged enrolment.

Responding to the minister’s assertion that Tinubu attended and graduated from the university, Pearse dismissed Alausa’s explanation, alleging that the minister was merely defending his principal rather than presenting the truth about the President’s academic background.

“The Minister of Education works for the President. He is lying, just as the President himself is a bona fide professional liar,” Pearse declared during the television interview.

He also questioned the explanation that Tinubu was homeschooled, arguing that such a claim was inconsistent with the educational history the President had previously presented in documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to Pearse, Tinubu had listed the names of schools he allegedly attended in official electoral documents, insisting that those institutions were not schools the President actually attended. He maintained that the discrepancies raised questions about the credibility of the educational information presented to Nigerians.

Pearse further disclosed that the controversy was not entirely new to him, recalling that in 1999, when associates of the late Lagos governorship aspirant, Funsho Williams, sought information about Tinubu’s educational records, some individuals were directed to him because of his alleged knowledge of the matter. He said he provided the information but advised them against making the President’s educational background the central issue in their political campaign.

The latest allegations followed comments by Alausa, who, during an interview on Channels Television on November 3, defended Tinubu’s academic qualifications, claiming that the President graduated with a first-class degree in Accounting from Chicago State University. The minister said he had lived in Chicago for nearly 30 years, visited the university several times and personally met people he identified as Tinubu’s former classmates.

However, Pearse’s assertion that Tinubu never attended the institution runs contrary to Chicago State University’s official position. During proceedings arising from former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s legal request for the President’s academic records in 2023, the university confirmed that Tinubu attended the institution and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Its registrar, Caleb Westberg, also testified under oath to Tinubu’s attendance and graduation.

The 2023 controversy centred partly on the authenticity and provenance of the particular diploma Tinubu submitted to INEC, with questions raised about discrepancies in some academic documents. The university maintained that it had records confirming his attendance and graduation, while the BBC subsequently reported that it found no evidence that the diploma was forged. The distinction between the university’s confirmation of Tinubu’s academic history and the controversy surrounding the particular certificate remains important in assessing the renewed allegations.

Pearse’s intervention has therefore reopened a politically sensitive debate over the President’s educational history as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections. His claims, particularly his assertion that Tinubu never attended Chicago State University, have yet to be independently substantiated with documentary evidence capable of overturning the university’s previously stated position.