Ndume urges opposition to sell 2027 ideas, not Tinubu’s certificate

Senator Ali Ndume, former Senate Leader and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged opposition parties and their presidential candidates to focus their 2027 campaigns on policies and ideas capable of winning voters rather than making President Bola Tinubu’s academic credentials the centre of their campaigns.

Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District, made the call on Monday as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election.

The senator said opposition candidates should offer Nigerians clear and workable alternatives to the policies of the Tinubu administration instead of dwelling on controversies surrounding the President’s educational records.

His comments followed renewed concerns from some opposition figures over the absence of primary and secondary school details in Tinubu’s recent submission to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Tinubu listed a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Chicago State University in 1979 and attached copies of his university certificate and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.

Ndume maintained that Tinubu had satisfied the constitutional requirement to contest the presidency, arguing that the 1999 Constitution does not make a secondary school certificate the only qualification for meeting the minimum educational standard.

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According to him, the Constitution requires a presidential candidate to have been “educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent.”

He described the certificate controversy as a distraction from issues that should dominate the 2027 election campaign.

“The narrative around his certificate, in my opinion, is distracting,” Ndume said.

He challenged opposition presidential candidates to explain what they would do differently from the Tinubu administration, particularly on the economy.

“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 said.

Ndume also urged the opposition to scrutinise the administration’s economic policies and security record while presenting credible alternatives to voters.

“It is his economic policies and how his administration has been able to tackle insecurity with landmark success that they should try and interrogate,” he said.

The senator argued that Tinubu had spent more than three years in office and should therefore be judged primarily by his performance in government.

“He has been in office for over three years now. So, how can the narrative around his certificates be the focus of his challengers?” he asked.

Ndume called on political parties to raise the quality of debate ahead of the 2027 elections and move political discourse “beyond the mundane” by presenting Nigerians with concrete policies and alternative visions for the country.