Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has faulted claim by President Bola Tinubu that Belarusian businessman, Alexander Zingman, was his schoolmate at Chicago State University (CSU).

Tinubu, while speaking at the launch of the Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme in Abuja on Monday, described Zingman as a “very good friend” and “neighbour” during his time at CSU.

“My dear very good very, the story must be clear here. Alex Sigman. We were together at the Chicago State University.

“To all of you, Alex was my very good neighbour and we went to the same school with me in Chicago.

“Never did we dreamt that I would be in this position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that Alex will be a successful businessman from Belarus to bring about a very successful collaboration and bilateral relationship that would promote economic prosperity for the future of our two countries.

“I believe our university will be very proud that we are doing this here today.

“We are proud of what you are doing. I believe that you are happy with what is happening here today. More grease to your elbow.”

Zingman stood and acknowledged the applause.

Reacting in a statement on Tuesday, Atiku’s media office expressed concern over Tinubu’s casual connection with an individual whose global reputation is reportedly tainted by controversy.

Atiku further stated that Nigerians have a right to understand why each effort to clarify Tinubu’s academic background only seems to add more confusion and raise new questions.

The statement read: “During the inauguration of the Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme in Abuja yesterday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made what appeared to be a lighthearted revelation — that a certain Mr. Alex Zingman was his classmate at Chicago State University (CSU). But rather than evoke confidence, the claim has triggered more questions than answers, particularly regarding the President’s long-contested academic history.

“A basic review of publicly available information immediately calls the President’s claim into question. Mr. Alex Zingman, a Belarusian businessman whose name features prominently in controversial dealings across Africa — including allegations of arms trafficking and financial improprieties in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo — is listed in various reports as being born in 1966. By the year 1979, when President Tinubu claims to have graduated from CSU, Mr. Zingman would have been only 13 years old.

“Are we now to believe that the Guinness Book of Records missed the story of a 13-year-old Belarusian prodigy graduating from an American university alongside Bola Ahmed Tinubu?

“Even more troubling is the President’s casual association with a man whose international reputation is mired in scandal.

“This leads us to ask, with the solemn weight of patriotism and the urgency of truth:

“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why a man born in 1966 is being paraded as your classmate who graduated in 1979. Were you taught in the same classroom or in different decades?

“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know if the Alex Zingman of global infamy — the arms-linked tycoon — shares the same seat in your memories or only in a script of fiction.

“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why the mystery around your academic record deepens with every attempt to clarify it. Who truly walked the halls of Chicago State University with you?

“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why, since you claim to have presented a certificate from Government College, Lagos to gain entry into Richard Daley College in 1973, no classmate from that institution has ever spoken of sharing a desk with you.

“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know how a school founded in 1972 could issue you a certificate dated 1970—unless you were a lone prophet of a school yet unborn.

“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know why you have not proudly unveiled a single verifiable classmate from your supposed years in Government College, Lagos or Government College, Ibadan or Chicago State University, the way other leaders do with ease and pride.

“Mr. President, your oath of office binds you not just to protect our nation but to honour its truth. The Presidency is not a sanctuary for secrets — it is a platform for integrity. And as such, Nigerians await not tales of Alexes from distant lands but proof, clarity, and the simple dignity of facts.”

Although CSU has confirmed that he graduated from the institution, inconsistencies in the certificate submitted to Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), including disputed details and formatting issues, have continued to fuel public debate.

The matter gained international attention after Atiku filed a legal request in a U.S. court to obtain Tinubu’s academic documents ahead of the 2023 election. (Daily Trust)