Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic credentials, insisting that the President graduated with a first-class degree in accounting from Chicago State University in the United States.
Alausa made the assertion during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, while responding to questions about the President’s educational background.
The minister said he was familiar with Chicago State University, having lived in Chicago for nearly 30 years, and claimed to have personally met several individuals who studied alongside Tinubu at the institution.
“I’m telling you hardcore facts. I lived in Chicago for almost 30 years. I’ve been to that university so many times,” Alausa said.
When asked whether he had met some of Tinubu’s former classmates, the minister replied that he had met many of them in person.
Asked specifically whether Tinubu graduated with a first-class degree, Alausa responded: “In accounting, of course.”
The education minister also described the President as a genius, dismissing questions about his intellectual capacity.
Beyond defending Tinubu’s academic record, Alausa praised the President’s leadership and economic policies, arguing that his administration had moved Nigeria from what he described as a moribund state towards economic growth.
However, when the interviewer raised concerns about poverty and the number of out-of-school children in the country, the minister insisted that attention should remain on what he considered the administration’s achievements.
