Tinubu: APC chieftain threatens legal action against Pearse

…Omowaiye gives PDP chieftain seven days to apologise, threatens IGP, DSS petitions By Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA: An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Engr. Oluremi Omowaiye, has threatened legal action against a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, over comments questioning President Bola Tinubu’s academic credentials and attendance at Chicago State University (CSU).

Omowaiye, who is the Executive Director, Project Implementation, at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), said he had concluded arrangements to petition the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) if Pearse failed to retract his comments and apologise within seven days. He made his position known while reacting to an interview Pearse granted News Central Television on Sunday, during which the PDP chieftain questioned whether Tinubu attended CSU and made allegations about the President’s academic record.

Speaking in his personal capacity as a Nigerian citizen, stakeholder and taxpayer, Omowaiye described the comments as defamatory and said they could undermine public confidence in the President’s credentials. He said the controversy had also generated questions within his household, disclosing that his teenage daughter had contacted him after seeing the claims online to ask whether the President attended a university and whether he forged his certificate.

Omowaiye demanded that Pearse publish an apology in at least seven national newspapers and major broadcast outlets within seven days, threatening to institute legal proceedings if he failed to comply. He also said petitions to the police and the DSS had been prepared for submission should Pearse refuse to retract his statements. “This issue is becoming unbearable.

How could someone like Adetokunbo Pearse call the President unprintable names? Nigeria is not a banana republic; this is a country with laws. “Apart from legal protection, we have also written a petition that will be submitted to the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services should Adetokunbo not retract his words,” he said.

On the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic records, Omowaiye cited the testimony of CSU Registrar, Caleb Westberg, during proceedings in the United States in October 2023. He said Westberg presented documents indicating that Tinubu attended the university between August 1977 and June 1979 and graduated on June 22, 1979, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting.

Omowaiye also maintained that the Supreme Court of Nigeria had addressed the issues surrounding the President’s academic qualifications. He further challenged Pearse’s claim that he was the director of the programme Tinubu attended at CSU, arguing that Pearse’s stated period of employment at the institution was between 1985 and 1990, several years after Tinubu’s reported graduation.

He also questioned Pearse’s academic background, citing his degrees in English and Contemporary African Literature from Bayero University, Kano, the University of Sheffield and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Omowaiye urged political actors to ensure that public discussions about political officeholders were based on verifiable evidence rather than unsubstantiated allegations.

“This is not about political party. If Adetokunbo and his cohorts want to campaign, it must be an evidence-based campaign,” he said. Pearse, a PDP chieftain in Lagos State, had told News Central Television that Tinubu did not attend Chicago State University. He also claimed that he lectured at the institution for five years, between 1985 and 1990, and was the director of the programme Tinubu claimed to have attended.

“The fact of the matter is, I know he never attended Chicago State University. He knows that I know. So the man (Mr Tinubu) has no integrity,” Pearse said. He further claimed that in 1999, when the late Funsho Williams sought information about Tinubu’s academic records, he was among those approached for information. Pearse also made allegations concerning Tinubu’s political activities, including claims about election rigging.