Former Senate Leader and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Ali Ndume has urged opposition parties to focus their 2027 campaigns on policies and ideas capable of attracting voters instead of making President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic credentials the centre of their campaign.
Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, spoke on Monday as political parties begin campaigns ahead of the January 2027 presidential election.
The senator said opposition parties and their presidential candidates should present Nigerians with clear and credible alternatives to the policies of the Tinubu administration.
His comments followed renewed concerns from some opposition figures over Tinubu’s educational credentials, particularly the absence of entries for his primary and secondary education in documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Tinubu listed a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Chicago State University in 1979, alongside copies of his certificate and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
Ndume argued that Tinubu had satisfied the constitutional requirement to contest the presidency, noting that the 1999 Constitution does not specifically make a secondary school certificate the only qualification for meeting the minimum educational requirement.
“The constitution only establishes a minimum educational threshold, but it does not insist on the particularity of a secondary school certificate as the only means by which that threshold can be met.”
He referred to the constitutional provision stating that a presidential candidate must have been educated to at least school certificate level or its equivalent.
‘Focus on What You Can Do Better’
Ndume said the continued focus on Tinubu’s certificate controversy was distracting opposition parties from issues that should define the 2027 election.
“What opposition parties’ presidential candidates and their spokespersons should focus on are their alternative economic policies, if they have any. What can they do better than President Tinubu? They should come out and tell Nigerians.”
He urged opposition parties to scrutinise the administration’s economic policies and security record while presenting Nigerians with credible alternatives.
According to Ndume, the opposition should focus on assessing Tinubu’s performance in office rather than making his academic credentials the centre of their campaign.
“He has been in office for over three years now. So, how can the narrative around his certificates be the focus of his challengers?”
The senator added that opposition parties should raise the quality of political debate and move the 2027 campaign “beyond the mundane” as political activities intensify.
Source: Ali Ndume’s statement.
