ABUJA, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim that a Belarusian businessman, Alex Zingman, was his classmate at Chicago State University has sparked controversy and prompted fresh demands for transparency over his academic history.
During the launch of the Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme in Abuja, Tinubu said Zingman was a classmate during his time at CSU. But the Atiku Media Office, representing former vice president Atiku Abubakar, issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday calling the assertion implausible and misleading.
“Mr. Alex Zingman, widely known for controversial dealings across Africa, including alleged arms trafficking and financial scandals in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is documented as being born in 1966,” the statement said. “If President Tinubu graduated in 1979, are we to believe that a 13-year-old Belarusian prodigy graduated alongside him?”
The media office raised a series of pointed questions: “Were you taught in the same classroom or in different decades? Nigerians deserve to know why a man born in 1966 is being paraded as your classmate who graduated in 1979.”
The statement also renewed scrutiny of the President’s academic credentials, which have been a recurring source of public debate. It challenged Tinubu to provide verifiable classmates or school records from his time at Government College Lagos, Richard Daley College, and CSU.
“Your oath of office binds you not just to protect our nation but to honor its truth,” the statement read. “The Presidency is not a sanctuary for secrets — it is a platform for integrity.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Presidency had not responded to the allegations. The matter adds a new chapter to the ongoing legal and political debate over Tinubu’s educational background — an issue that has lingered since his early political rise in the 1990s.
By Gabriel Ani
