Certificate omission doesn’t invalidate Tinubu’s nomination — SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and constitutional lawyer, Dr. Monday Ubani, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not constitutionally required to submit his primary and secondary school certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission, stressing that the omission does not invalidate his nomination.

Ubani made the clarification on Wednesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu.

He spoke amid renewed debate over Tinubu’s educational credentials following allegations by former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, that the President did not submit his primary and secondary school certificates among the nomination documents for the 2027 presidential election.

The controversy followed the publication of credentials submitted by presidential candidates by INEC, reigniting discussions over the constitutional educational requirements for contesting the presidency.

Reacting, Ubani urged Nigerians to differentiate between constitutional provisions and public expectations.

“It is about the law, not about sentiment or bias, which I see flying about,” he said.

According to him, Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) only requires a presidential candidate to show that he or she has attained education up to school certificate level or its equivalent.

“The Constitution says that whoever will run for the office of the President must show that he has attained the level of education up to school certificate level,” he said.

The lawyer argued that there is no legal requirement for candidates to physically submit primary or secondary school certificates, adding that courts have interpreted the provision to mean that evidence of attaining the required educational level is sufficient.

“There is no legal compulsion that a candidate must disclose or produce his certificate. I will say that it is only a moral issue and has nothing to do with legal compulsion,” he stated.

Ubani said while the omission could raise concerns about transparency, it did not amount to a constitutional breach.

He added that where a candidate presents a recognised university degree, there is a presumption that such an individual passed through the earlier stages of education unless credible evidence proves otherwise.

“If somebody has a degree, the presumption is that he must have passed through primary school, secondary school and university. It is for anyone challenging that qualification to rebut the presumption,” he said.

However, the SAN acknowledged that public office holders should provide comprehensive details of their educational background as part of transparency and accountability.

“Ordinarily, whoever is submitting his credentials should also provide evidence of primary and secondary school qualifications. Those are moral issues. They are issues of transparency,” he added.

On INEC’s role in the nomination process, Ubani said the commission is not empowered under the Electoral Act to authenticate candidates’ academic credentials before publishing them.

“There is no provision in the Electoral Act that gives INEC the supervisory role of authenticating or qualifying candidates. The law provides a remedy for anyone who believes that information submitted by a candidate is false,” he said.

He explained that INEC’s duty is to publish candidates’ particulars, while persons challenging the accuracy of submitted information must seek legal redress.

Ubani also commented on concerns over variations in the names appearing on the academic credentials of Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

He said differences in names do not automatically indicate wrongdoing but should be explained with relevant legal documentation.

“It is an issue. Peter Obi has to explain the reason for the change. There must be a public document to support it,” he said.