Durojaiye Ogunsanya, a public affairs analyst, on Wednesday, said he was one of the classmates of President Bola Tinubu, at the Chicago State University (CSU).
Ogunsanya’s claim is coming amid controversies surrounding Tinubu’s academic records, especially from the Chicago University.
Grow your business with us
Recall that, Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2023 General elections in Nigeria, had approached a United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeking details of Tinubu’s academic records at the CSU.
Atiku had subpoenaed the CSU to make Tinubu’s academic records available to his access, believing that such discoveries will shed more light on the controversies surrounding the President’s academic records.
The President’s academic record submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), showed he graduated from CSU in 1979, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, and Management.
However, there are allegations that Tinubu, who attended CSU, is different from the current president of Nigeria.
But speaking during an interview with TVC on Wednesday, Ogunsanya claimed he graduated from the university alongside President Tinubu from the Department of Accounting and Business Administration in 1979.
Ogunsanya said they were both members of the accounting club in the school, adding that Tinubu was elected as the President of the Accounting student club at CSU between 1978/1979.
“We were in the same department, class, and college. We met in school at Chicago State University (CSU) and we were in the same department — College of Accounting, Business Administration — with a major in accounting.
“We graduated together. He did attend the Chicago State University and he graduated in 1979 as I did. I’m here to testify that he did attend the university and he was a good student.
“People were being mischievous in the first place because he was a governor for eight years, he worked for Mobil for several years and you are contesting that he did not go to university. How is that possible?
“I can’t imagine how that is possible. Sometimes, the president might be embellished, but that does not mean he did not attend university.
“We were members of the accounting club in the school. When the time for the election came, the president surprised me.
“There was a time when he became the president of the club. Go and check it out. We were even laughing at him with his accent. He had a Nigerian accent and because of that we were laughing at him”, he said.