By Dennis Agbo
The Chairman of the Forum of Former Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly and former Southeast Spokesman to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has dismissed the ongoing public debate surrounding the President’s newly published Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination form as a product of “sheer political mischief and legal illiteracy.”
Reacting to the controversies trailing the publication of the Form EC9 by [INEC], where President Tinubu’s primary and secondary school certificate sections were left blank while attaching his Chicago State University (CSU) degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate, Onoh stated that the President acted in total conformity with the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and established Supreme Court precedents.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Denge Josef Onoh broke down the legalities sustaining the President’s documentation: Onoh highlighted that “The basic baseline threshold required to contest for the office of the President under Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution is to be educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. President Tinubu possesses a valid Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from [Chicago State University].
Onoh said that a university degree far exceeds the baseline of a secondary school certificate.
“Legally, when a candidate presents a credential that surpasses the constitutional threshold, that single higher qualification satisfies the law. You cannot demand a lower foundation when the architectural masterpiece is already standing.”
Onoh said that “The Supreme court of Nigeria has repeatedly ruled that an aspirant does not need to submit or list a continuous chain of all academic certificates from primary school upwards to INEC.
Hence president Tinubu Presenting a genuine higher degree implicitly serves as sufficient evidence of having met and bypassed lesser educational steps.
Onoh further said that the courts maintain that an aspirant is not legally required to account for every lower school attended if their top-tier credential proves eligibility. The public must separate emotional politics from constitutional law.”
Onoh said that an aspirant is legally permitted to leave the primary and secondary columns blank, provided their uploaded tertiary degree is valid, authentic, and uploaded to satisfy the electoral umpire. What the law frowns against is the presentation of false information or forged documents.
Onoh said the president opting to leave those spaces blank and attaching his higher credentials, the President has maintained utmost integrity, transparency, and compliance with the Electoral Act.”
Onoh urged opposition parties and critics to familiarize themselves with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rather than engaging in selective amnesia and synthetic outrage.
Onoh stated that “This orchestrated propaganda is dead on arrival.
Onoh further said that President Tinubu’s academic record has been thoroughly vetted and affirmed globally, including confirmation by the BBC Fact Checkers and Chicago State University under deposition. We advise the opposition to focus on constructive engagements rather than trying to manufacture a crisis where none exists.
Onoh said that the President remains focused on delivering his mandate to Nigerians, and his documentation remains unassailable.
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