Former Senate Leader and All Progressives Congress chieftain, Senator Ali Ndume, has urged opposition parties to stop making President Bola Tinubu’s academic qualifications a campaign issue ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.

In a statement issued on Monday, Ndume said Tinubu had already met the constitutional requirements to contest the presidency and argued that the issue of his eligibility had been settled through litigation after the 2023 presidential election.

His comments followed concerns raised by opposition parties after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, published the academic qualifications of the 19 presidential candidates and their running mates.

Ndume dismissed claims that Tinubu was required to attach a secondary school certificate, insisting that the Constitution does not make it the only acceptable qualification.

Citing Section 131(d) of the 1999 Constitution, he said the law only requires a presidential candidate to have been educated up to school certificate level or its equivalent.

According to the senator, the constitutional provision establishes a minimum educational standard without prescribing a specific document as the only means of proving that requirement.

Ndume said opposition parties would be better served scrutinising Tinubu’s policies and performance in office rather than revisiting issues surrounding his academic credentials.

“The narrative around his certificate, in my opinion, is distracting,” he said.

He maintained that political debate ahead of the election should focus on governance and the administration’s record rather than questions he believes have already been resolved by the courts.