The presidential candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi said he is distressed as a Nigerian.
The former governor of Anambra State said this on Wednesday as he addressed a press conference in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Following the alleged certificate scandal, he called on President Bola Tinubu to clarify the controversy surrounding his identity and academic records at the Chicago State University.
He stressed that the incident has brought embarrassment to the nation as well as Nigerians.
Obi said, “Having followed the prolonged identity crisis that recently played out in the American Court System and the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the Chicago State University credentials of Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I must confess that I am distressed as a Nigerian.”
He added that the incident has dented the nation’s credibility and has posed embarrassing questions for Nigerians.
He added that internationally, every Nigerian is seen as a potential fraudster, forger or identity thief.
In his words, “In addition to the barrage of media frenzy that the matter has triggered at home and abroad, I have had the unwholesome burden of responding to embarrassing questions about Nigeria’s overall credibility as a nation to privileged audiences and individuals both at home and abroad in different parts of the world where I have travelled lately.
“To outsiders, the entire CSU matter as well as Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s many lingering identity question marks has further worsened Nigeria’s less-than-glorious image internationally. Uninformed outsiders now see every other Nigerian as a potential fraudster, certain forger, or identity thief. The controversy is unnecessary just as the implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided.”
