FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to clarify his alleged relationship with Alex Zingman, a Belarusian businessman reportedly involved in multiple criminal activities.
Tinubu on Monday claimed that ‘Alex’ was his classmate at Chicago State University (CSU) in the United States.
Speaking at the launch of the Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme in Abuja on Monday, the president said he attended CSU together with Zingman.
In a statement released on Tuesday, June 24, Atiku’s Media Office questioned the validity of Tinubu’s claim, citing inconsistencies in his public records and demanding more explanation on the issue.
Abubakar, who contested against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential poll on the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) platform, expressed concern over Tinubu’s connection with an individual whose global reputation is marred by controversies.
He said a basic review of publicly available information immediately called the president’s claim into question.
He noted that Zingman had been linked to controversial deals in Africa, including arms trafficking and financial impropriety.
He added that various reports listed Zingman as being born in 1966.
“By the year 1979, when President Tinubu claims to have graduated from CSU, Mr. Zingman would have been only 13 years old.
“Are we now to believe that the Guinness Book of Records missed the story of a 13-year-old Belarusian prodigy graduating from an American university alongside Bola Ahmed Tinubu?” the former vice president queried.
He added, “Were you taught in the same classroom or different decades? Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know if the Alex Zingman of global infamy — the arms-linked tycoon — shares the same seat in your memories or only in a script of fiction,” the Adamawa-born politician submitted.
He added that Nigerians deserved clarity on Tinubu’s academic background, as, according to him, each attempt to explain it only seems to create more confusion and raise additional questions.
He demanded answers from Tinubu, questioning why none of the president’s classmates from Government College, Lagos, had come forward to confirm he attended the school.
He also highlighted the inconsistency of a school founded in 1972 issuing a certificate dated 1970 to the president. Furthermore, he said the president had not produced any known classmates from his supposed alma mater.
He also emphasised that Tinubu’s oath of office required him to uphold truth and integrity and that the presidency is a platform for transparency, not secrecy.
“And as such, Nigerians await not tales of Alexes from distant lands but proof, clarity, and the simple dignity of facts,” he said.
The ICIR reports that controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic records resurfaced shortly before and after the 2023 general election. It sparked a global debate and was a major point of contention during the presidential election disputes in the courts.
A reporter with the ICIR
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