TheCable

Timi Frank has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to probe Chicago State University (CSU).

Frank alleged that CSU has been reluctant to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement released on Friday, Frank, a former deputy spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said CSU owes Nigerians a responsibility to unveil the records.

BACKGROUND

Recently, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections, approached a US court for the northern district of Illinois, for an order compelling CSU to release the academic records of Tinubu.

Tinubu’s credentials show that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting and management.

However, there have been allegations bordering on discrepancies with Tinubu’s certificate.

In the suit filed before the US district court, Abubakar prayed the court to subpoena CSU over Tinubu’s files.

Abubakar said the files will settle the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic background and aid the election petition tribunal.

The president, through his counsel, had filed a counter application.

In a response to Atiku’s application, CSU said it will release the academic records of Tinubu if a United States court grants the order.

The university said it does not “understand” why Tinubu’s academic records “could possibly have any bearing on a 2023 election challenge in a foreign country”.

FRANK ASKS US GOVERNMENT TO INTERVENE

Frank has urged the security agencies in the US to intervene.

“We advise the US government not to destroy its long-standing relationship with Nigeria because of one man,” he said.

“Otherwise, this case will make the world see the university system in the US as corrupt and compromised because we understand how the American system works.

“If Tinubu is the President of America and American citizens request for his academic information, will they not grant the request?

“They will do so because every President of America and those holding public offices are answerable to the public, that underpins the principle of accountability.

“If Donald Trump could be on trial, why will someone seeking public office in Nigeria be shielded from scrutiny at the point of entry by public institutions in America?

“Is it that the President of Nigeria is not meant to be accountable to the citizenry?”

He added that CSU should be proud to showcase Tinubu’s records if there is “nothing fishy” between the university and the Nigerian president.