By Felix Olukayode
President Bola Tinubu’s published nomination documents for the 2027 presidential election have reignited public scrutiny after sections reserved for his primary and secondary school qualifications appeared blank, even as his running mate, Vice President Kashim Shettima, submitted a detailed educational history stretching back to primary school.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday published the personal particulars of presidential candidates, including Forms EC9 submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket of Tinubu and Shettima, in line with the Electoral Act’s requirement that candidates’ credentials be made available for public scrutiny before the election.
A review of Tinubu’s Form EC9 shows that the President listed only a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, obtained “with honours” from Chicago State University in 1979. The sections designated for his primary and secondary school qualifications were left blank, with the corresponding years entered as “0000.” He nevertheless attached copies of his university degree certificate and National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate among the supporting documents.
The contrast with Shettima’s submission is striking. The Vice President’s documents outline his educational journey from Lamisula I Primary School, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1972, through Government Secondary School, Potiskum, where he earned his WAEC qualification in 1983, before detailing his university education at the University of Maiduguri and postgraduate studies at the University of Ibadan. The side-by-side comparison has made the blank entries in Tinubu’s form more noticeable.
The issue quickly attracted political attention. Former Minister of Sports Solomon Dalung said on X that one aspect of the President’s published documents “immediately caught my attention,” referring to the omission of primary and secondary school details. Dalung, however, presented the observation as a question for public scrutiny rather than a definitive allegation.
The renewed focus comes against the backdrop of the prolonged controversy surrounding Tinubu’s Chicago State University degree during the 2023 election cycle. That qualification became the subject of extensive litigation and public debate before the courts ultimately upheld Tinubu’s election. Unlike the earlier dispute, the current discussion centres not on the authenticity of the university degree submitted, but on the absence of entries for earlier stages of the President’s educational history in the published nomination form.
Whether the omission proves legally significant remains uncertain. INEC’s publication of Form EC9 is intended to allow Nigerians to examine candidates’ credentials and, where necessary, raise objections through the processes provided by law. As public scrutiny continues, attention is likely to shift to whether the Presidency offers an explanation for the blank fields or allows the documents to speak for themselves. Until then, the omission is likely to remain part of the wider political conversation as the 2027 election gathers momentum.