On Sunday night, the American branch of the All Progressives Congress warned the National Democratic Coalition against holding the press conference it had scheduled to address the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s academic certificate from Chicago State University, noting that the university had already verified its legitimacy.
The warning was sent two days after NADECO USA’s publicity secretary, David Adenekan, declared that the organization will hold a global press conference inside Chicago City Hall on Monday at 9:45 a.m.
Adenekan went on to say that the goal was to provide journalists and others of the international community a chance to submit inquiries that would thoroughly probe and put further light on the President’s allegedly forged CSU certificate.
The Chairman of APC USA, Prof. Tai Balofin, responded via a statement on Sunday night and denounced the action, calling it a smokescreen to demonize the president.
Balofin added that NADECO USA, which he called a bogus entity, should not have been seen talking about a case that is already in court while asserting that Tinubu’s alma mater has resolved the issue.
He declared, “The claim regarding President Tinubu’s educational credential from Chicago State University has been handled, and CSU has confirmed the authenticity of the certificate. It is important to remember that this situation is already in the hands of the proper authorities, notably the courts, where the rules of due process and the law will be followed.
We thus implore the followers of Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party to hold off until the outcome of the Supreme Court decision.
“Furthermore, we would like to make it clear that the organization hosting this world press conference under the name NADECO USA is not the same NADECO that President Tinubu originally belonged to during the Abacha era. We implore the people to avoid falling for these attempts to embellish the past. Premature and unsubstantiated accusations not only harm the public but also run the risk of drawing attention away from urgent problems that actually demand investigation.
“To sum up, the APC USA leadership vehemently opposes any efforts to damage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reputation and, by extension, that of Nigeria. We have faith that the judicial system and democratic procedures will effectively address any valid concerns.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to democratic principles, and we urge this group operating under the guise of NADECO USA to engage in productive discussion and let the legal system resolve any legitimate issues by following its natural course.”
