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Chicago State University: Why Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar Should Stop Celebrating US Court Judgement

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Dr. Josef Onoh, President Bola Tinubu’s former spokesperson in the southeast, has likened the celebration of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his supporters over the US court’s judgment to an ‘Ajasco dance’. This analogy suggests that the celebration may be misplaced or premature.

The US Magistrate Judge, Jeffrey Gilbert, had ordered the Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s credentials as requested by Atiku, leading to jubilation among Atiku’s supporters.
However, Onoh countered Atiku’s jubilation, deeming it a Pyrrhic victory that doesn’t deviate from the previous court order to release the certificate. He dismissed Atiku’s argument about a discrepancy in the dates of President Tinubu’s two Chicago State University diplomas as unfounded.
Onoh expressed regret over the misunderstanding among some members of the public regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, which, he stated, already addresses the concerns raised by Atiku. FERPA grants students the right to review and correct their education records, providing procedures for rectifying inaccurate or misleading information through both formal and informal channels.
“So Atiku has nothing to celebrate about. He told the US that he wanted to authenticate these documents, whether a Chicago State University diploma in the name of Bola Ahmed Tinubu dated June 22, 1979, that was submitted to the INEC before the Nigerian presidential election in February 2023 is genuine or was forged.
“Atiku said that under Nigerian law, the submission of a fraudulent document to the INEC would have disqualified President Tinubu from participating in the election.
“Now, when Atiku filed his application in the US district court on August 2, his petition challenging the presidential election was pending before the Nigerian Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Atiku said his application in the US court was to obtain discoveries that would support his petitions in the Nigerian court of appeal.
“For issues of clarity, I wish to state that the Nigerian Court of Appeal declined to consider issues related to President Tinubu’s educational background that had not been included in the Petition but rather were belatedly raised for the first time in Atiku’s petition.
“Hence, even if Atiku returns from his wild expedition, he will still meet the same empty dinner table and no guests to serve his oysters because they have gone out of season.
“The US Eastern Illinois court that ordered the Chicago State University to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to Atiku was clear and specific while handing down the ruling in favor of Atiku with the right and cleverly taking the keys with the left.
“When Jeffrey Gilbert of US magistrate judge, gave the ruling on ordering the university to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents to Atiku within two days. This means that Chicago State University is only limited to providing all documents not protected by the FERPA to Atiku. Unfortunately some of the documents requested by Atiku are FERPA protected.
“So, clearly there is nothing new to celebrate, reason being that The Chicago State University already complied with the order even before the magistrate granted Atiku his order. CSU already confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended the university and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree.
“However, the university stated that the United States’ federal law, prevents it from providing any further information about Tinubu’s record, without consent or unless allowed to do so via court order. Clearly, Atiku and his cohorts have nothing to celebrate as the court clearly stated that only non-privileged records may be issued to Atiku,” Onoh said.
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