Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and a critic of President Bola Tinubu, has defended Tinubu’s degree from Chicago State University (CSU) and said that the replacement certificate he tendered was a common practice in the US.
Omokri, in a lengthy post on his social media platforms, claimed that the registrar of CSU, Mr. Caleb Westberg, had testified in court that Tinubu was admitted, attended and graduated from the university with a BSc in Accounting in 1979.
He said that Westberg also explained that the university only retained diplomas that were not picked up and that the current certificate Tinubu tendered was a replacement certificate that could easily be acquired from third-party vendors.
He said, “What Chicago State University’s registrar, Mr. Caleb Westberg, said is that they only retain diplomas that were not picked up. He testified that the male person who is currently Nigeria’s President was admitted, attended and graduated from their institution.
The diploma that President Bola Tinubu tendered to the Independent National Electoral Commission is a replacement certificate, which third-party vendors usually issue. It is a common practice in the States. But you may not know because you have never left your Local Government Area. And those who are manipulating you know your mumu button.”
He challenged those who doubted his claims to contact Westberg directly at cwestber@csu.edu or +1 (773) 995-2517.
Reno Omokri said that he travelled to Chicago in September 2022 to verify Tinubu’s degree by himself and that he did not rely on the internet, rumours, gossip or beer parlour talk.
He said he would always tell the truth, even if it favoured his enemy and injured his friend.
He also accused some people of having an exceptional talent for believing lies and being fooled by those who lied about Tinubu’s degree, just as they lied about Buhari dying and being replaced by a Sudanese clone named Jubril.
