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Tinubu’s Certificate: We Don’t Have Time For Frivolous Issues – Foreign Affairs Minister

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, says the administration cannot waste time on such “trivial matters” in light of the controversies surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from the Chicago State University (CSU).

Tuggar, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, said that the controversy does not cast a shadow on some of the president’s recent international engagements.

“There is a tendency to always try to distract people on such frivolous issues as opposed to facing the major issues of development. We don’t have time to waste on that,” he said.

He argued that a former president, Muhammadu Buhari, experienced a similar issue.

“Nobody is wasting time about certificate qualification for somebody who has been a governor of a state, served two terms, and has been on the national stage as a politician.

“You remember that (former) President Buhari had to go through the same thing, where people were actually questioning whether he went to secondary school or not. Someone who had classmates and was the captain? He was a head boy,” he said.

The minister claimed that during Tinubu’s recent international meetings, no one has shown interest in the saga.

“The foreign leaders that we’ve been engaging and the international organisations clearly are disinterested in wasting time on such.

“We pay no mind to that,” Tuggar stated.

He added that due to the critical situation of the nation, Nigerians should not be obsessed by certification.

Instead, he asked them to concentrate on development.

”With the economic challenges we are facing, we shouldn’t be wasting time about some certificate; whether there is a T missing or an I hasn’t been dotted. That shouldn’t be our primary focus at the moment,” he argued.

His comment came in the wake of Atiku Abubakar’s demand for Tinubu’s credentials from the US varsity.

A photo combination of Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar

The presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had approached the US District Court in Northern Illinois to compel the Chicago State University (CSU), to release President Tinubu’s academic records, arguing that it would boost his suit challenging his election in the February 25 poll.

He had requested the documents for use in Nigerian courts to support his argument that Tinubu forged a certificate he claimed to have obtained from CSU in 1979 and submitted to Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the 2023 presidential election.

Following his move, a US Court ordered CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records to Atiku.

The university, on Monday, released to Atiku’s legal team, a cache of documents connected to Tinubu’s education at the institution and copies of certificates with redacted names issued to other persons about the same time the Nigerian president finished from the school in 1979.

It also contained Tinubu’s admission records and a letter dated 27 June 2022 confirming that he attended the university from August 1977 to June 1979 majoring in accounting. The letter said Tinubu was awarded Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honours on 22 June 1979.

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HAPPENING NOW: Blackout hits Abuja, Embassies affected

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The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has announced power outage in various parts of Abuja including hotels and diplomatic buildings.

The AEDC made the announcement in its verified X handle today.

It said the blackout also affected Bolingo Hotel, Wada Maida Building, which houses the headquarters of Sudan, Egypt embassies, Envoy Hotel, the European Union embassy, among others.

The other places affected by the blackout are the National Planning Commission (NPC), the National Hospital, and the Turkish, Pakistani, and Indian embassies.

“Also, Garki Area One, Two, Three, Seven and Eight; Garki village; Garki market; Ubiaja Street; Kaltungo Street; and Lagos Street have been affected.

“Also affected are Oka Akoko Street, Treasury House, Karibu Hotel, and part of Asokoro, such as Yakubu Gowon Street.

“Similarly, Imo Government Lodges, Gado Nasko Street, Justice Sowemimo, Hassan Musa Katsina Streets, part of Jasse Martin, NIA, and TY Danjuma Street are without power supply.

“It said also affected are Lugbe, Jedo, Forte Royal, Back Of Dunamics, Customs Quarters, Aviation Village Piwoye Kapwa Ok Water, Nicomsat, Korean School and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,”.

It attributed the power outage to a technical fault.

“The technical team of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is currently working to restore the power supply.

“We regret the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding,” AEDC said.

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Burial begins for Oyo school teacher killed by JAS terrorist group

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

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The burial arrangements for Adesiyan Adegboye, the teacher killed during last Friday’s coordinated attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, began on Friday at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.

Adegboye, 49, was shot dead during the invasion carried out by armed bandits at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele.

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

The attackers reportedly stormed the schools around 9:30am, abducting several teachers and students during the operation that threw the communities into panic.

Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered the deployment of additional detectives from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue efforts.

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FG launches GovGuideNigeria to boost citizens governance access

GovGuideNigeria platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.

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The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijan, has said that Nigerians can now access the government information and services through the newly launched GovGuideNigeria.

The artificial intelligence-powered platform was launched on May 21 by the government in collaboration with Meta, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and local developer partner Publica AI.

According to the Minister, the platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.

Tijani stated that the platform provides users with easy access to information from more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 government agencies.

He described the initiative as part of the government’s efforts to improve public service delivery through technology and digital innovation.

Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Meta, said during the launch “Meta’s open-source AI is critical to economic growth and productivity — and GovGuide Nigeria, is a clear example of what this looks like in practice.

Ignatius Willie, CEO, Publica AI said, “Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government. With GovGuide Nigeria, we are not simply digitising access to public services; we are making them conversational, multilingual, and available on the channels Nigerians already use every day.

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