Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to provide clarity over his recent claim that he attended Chicago State University (CSU) with a Belarusian national, Alex Zingman.
Tinubu made the remark during the launch of the Renewed Hope Mechanisation Programme in Abuja, where he stated that “Alex from Belarus” was his classmate at CSU.
However, the comment has since drawn public scrutiny and raised questions about the accuracy of the president’s statement.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Atiku’s media office, the former vice president urged Tinubu to explain the nature of his relationship with Zingman, who has been linked to controversial dealings across Africa, including allegations of arms trafficking and financial misconduct in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“A simple review of publicly available records puts the president’s claim into question,” the statement said.
“Mr. Alex Zingman, a Belarusian businessman named in multiple international reports, was born in 1966. That would make him just 13 years old in 1979, the year Tinubu claims to have graduated from Chicago State University.”
Atiku questioned the plausibility of a 13-year-old Belarusian graduating from an American university, saying it would have made global headlines if true.
“Are we to believe the Guinness World Records missed the story of a teenage prodigy from Belarus earning a degree alongside Bola Ahmed Tinubu?” he asked.
He also raised concern over what he described as Tinubu’s “casual association” with an individual reportedly linked to international scandals.
“This goes beyond a case of mistaken identity,” Atiku continued. “Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know whether the Alex Zingman whose name has surfaced in arms trade allegations is indeed your classmate — or merely a character inserted into a narrative that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.”
Atiku also revisited long-standing questions surrounding Tinubu’s academic credentials, particularly his claim of obtaining a certificate from Government College, Lagos, which he allegedly used to gain admission into Richard Daley College in 1973.
“Mr. President, Nigerians deserve to know how a school established in 1972 could have issued you a certificate dated 1970. Unless, of course, you were granted admission before the school even existed,” the statement said.
He further questioned why no former classmates from Government College, Lagos, Government College, Ibadan, or Chicago State University have ever publicly identified themselves as having studied alongside Tinubu.
“The presidency should not be a refuge for unanswered questions. It is a platform that demands truth, accountability, and transparency,” Atiku declared. “Rather than stories about mysterious classmates from distant lands, Nigerians deserve verifiable facts.
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He concluded by urging the president to come clean, stressing that his oath of office demands both the protection of the nation and the upholding of truth.
