Obi says “Uninformed outsiders now see every Nigerian as a fraudster, certificate forger or identity thief”; Ask Tinubu to reintroduce himself to Nigerians

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party believes Nigerians are now regarded as fraudsters and certificate forgers because of the forgery allegation against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Obi said President Tinubu’s certificate saga at the Chicago State University in the United States has worsened the image of Nigeria.

The former Governor of Anambra State said this at a press conference organised by his party on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.

He said, “The Chicago University matter and Chief Bola Tinubu’s many other identity question marks have further worsened Nigeria’s less-than-glorious image internationally. Uninformed outsiders now see every Nigerian as a fraudster, certificate forger or identity thief.”

Obi maintained that Tinubu’s certificate saga caused Nigeria a global embarrassment, adding that the President would have saved himself and the nation the embarrassment if he had come out clean.

“The controversy is unnecessary, just as the implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided. In my opinion, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself from this protracted embarrassment and undue anxiety,” he said.

He, therefore, asked President Tinubu to reintroduce himself to Nigerians by providing all the information the people of the country need to know about him including his birthplace, academic and his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) records.

“Chief Bola Tinubu still owes Nigeria and the world a simple obligation and I respectfully call on him to immediately perform a simple task: reintroduce himself, let the world know his name, nationality, place of birth, parentage, primary and secondary schools he attended with dates, as well as the actual universities he attended and certificates obtained, he should indicate where and when he did his NYSC, and if at any time he had a change of name, that’s not a crime.”

Obi said his advice to Tinubu to reintroduce himself to Nigerians does not require affidavits or prolonged course process.

Recall the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a pro-democracy group, had earlier called for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu in light of allegations surrounding certificate forgery at Chicago State University.

The demand for President Tinubu’s resignation was made by the Executive Director of NADECO in the USA, Lloyd Ukwu, during a statement issued on Friday, October 06, 2023.

Ukwu stated the importance of upholding integrity and the rule of law in the highest office of the land. He stated, “The allegations of forgery, if proven true, not only cast a shadow over the presidency but also undermine the credibility of Nigeria on the international stage.”

Consequently, NADECO urged President Tinubu to step down voluntarily in the interest of preserving the integrity of the presidency and the nation. The group asserted that President Tinubu’s current distractions were already leading the country to “international embarrassment.”

NADECO has been a prominent advocate for democracy, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria.