ALL Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu has travelled to France for undisclosed ‘important meetings’.
Tinubu, according to his spokesperson, Tunde Rahman left the country shortly after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House on Monday.
“He is off to Paris, France to hold some important meetings. The APC standard-bearer is expected back in the country shortly,” Rahman said.
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Earlier, before his departure, Tinu attended the public presentation of a book titled ‘Mr. Speaker’ and launch of the legislative mentoring initiative in commemoration of the 60th birthday of Speaker of House Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila.
Tinubu’s travel is coming amidst controversy over his academic qualifications and records.
A copy of a sworn affidavit in support of his nomination form for the presidential election, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), surfaced in the media last week.
In the affidavit, Tinubu said his academic certificates were stolen by unknown persons while he was in self-exile for four years.
“I went on self-exile from October 1994 to October 1998 (and) when I returned, I discovered that my property, including all the documents relating to my qualifications and my certificates in respect of paragraph 3 above were looted by unknown persons,” he stated.
While Tinubu failed to disclose details of his primary and secondary education in the INEC form, he said he attended the University of Chicago between 1972 and 1976, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.
This contradicts his previous election submissions in 1999 when he ran and won the Lagos State governorship election.
Then, he had claimed to attend St Paul Children’s School, Aroloya, Home School, Ibadan, between 1958 and 1964.
He also claimed to have done his secondary education at Government College, Ibadan (GCI), between 1965 and 1968. From Ibadan, he said, he proceeded to Richard Daley College, Chicago, from 1969 to 1971.
Although many Nigerians have been doubting these claims by Tinubu, the Chicago State University in the US had maintained, formally, that the APC presidential candidate did attend the institution and was one of its best graduates.
Tinubu had worked for Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, and GTE Services Corporation while in the US.
Upon returning to Nigeria in 1983, Tinubu joined Mobil Oil Nigeria and rose to be the Treasurer of the company, before he quit to join politics.
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