Atiku Tinubu certificate forgery claims return to the spotlight as Atiku declares 2027 his final presidential election and challenges Tinubu’s credentials
African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has declared that the 2027 presidential election will be his final attempt at Nigeria’s highest office, while renewing his allegation that President Bola Tinubu submitted forged academic credentials.
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Atiku made the comments during a Facebook Live session on Wednesday, as the political contest ahead of the 2027 election continues to intensify.
“Whether I win or lose, 2027 will be my last time contesting for the presidency,” Atiku said.
The declaration marks a significant point in Atiku’s long presidential journey. The former vice-president, who served alongside former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007, has pursued the presidency through several election cycles and political parties.
Atiku also returned to one of the most contentious issues surrounding his political rivalry with Tinubu: the president’s academic qualifications.
“I was the one who raised the issue surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s academic certificates, and I stand by my position that there was forgery,” Atiku said.
He argued that questions surrounding the educational credentials of a sitting Nigerian president were too serious to be dismissed.
“It is unacceptable for the President of Nigeria to have such questions surrounding his academic credentials,” he added.
Atiku’s renewed claim comes days after he took the certificate controversy back to court.
The ADC candidate recently filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to challenge Tinubu’s eligibility for the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps certificate.
The latest legal move has given fresh political weight to a controversy that dates back to the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku previously sought access to Tinubu’s records from Chicago State University in the United States and attempted to introduce evidence from the proceedings into his Supreme Court challenge to the 2023 election result.
The dispute has centred partly on a diploma submitted to Nigeria’s electoral commission and questions about whether the document was issued by Chicago State University.
During proceedings in the United States in 2023, Chicago State University Registrar Caleb Westberg said the institution could not authenticate the particular certificate presented to Nigeria’s electoral commission.
Atiku subsequently relied on the testimony in his argument that the document was forged.
The issue, however, remains contested. A BBC fact-check published in October 2023 concluded that there was no evidence establishing that the diploma submitted by Tinubu to INEC had been forged, noting that Chicago State University had produced records showing that a replacement diploma was issued to Tinubu in 1979.
Tinubu and his representatives have consistently rejected allegations of wrongdoing.
During the earlier Supreme Court proceedings, Tinubu also opposed Atiku’s attempt to introduce the certificate-related material as fresh evidence.
The renewed dispute is now unfolding in a different political environment.
Tinubu has secured the All Progressives Congress presidential nomination for the 2027 election, while Atiku is preparing to contest under the ADC banner.
The State House confirmed Tinubu’s presentation as the APC presidential candidate in May 2026.
Atiku’s decision to describe 2027 as his final presidential contest also gives the forthcoming election a personal dimension.
Having spent decades seeking the presidency, the former vice-president is now presenting the next election as his last opportunity to achieve that ambition.
The declaration comes as Nigeria’s opposition landscape remains unsettled.
Atiku’s ADC candidacy places him at the centre of efforts to challenge Tinubu, but the opposition remains fragmented, with several prominent figures pursuing separate political paths.
For Atiku, the certificate controversy is therefore both a legal and political issue.
His latest comments show that he intends to keep the question of Tinubu’s qualifications firmly in the public conversation as the 2027 contest gathers momentum.
Whether the courts ultimately accept Atiku’s allegations will be separate from the political debate.
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For now, the former vice-president has made clear that he intends to fight his final presidential campaign while continuing to challenge what he describes as unresolved questions about the incumbent’s credentials.
