Arise Television presenter Rufai Oseni has raised concerns over the educational disclosures of some presidential candidates whose nomination documents reportedly lack details of their primary school education.
The broadcaster made the remarks in a Facebook post on Sunday after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published the personal particulars of candidates contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Reacting to the documents, Oseni questioned why anyone seeking Nigeria’s highest political office would be unable to provide information about their primary education.
“People that can’t tell you their primary school want to be your president, and Nigerians will vote them,” he wrote.
Oseni’s comments come amid renewed public scrutiny of the educational qualifications, affidavits and other statutory documents submitted by presidential candidates to INEC as part of the nomination process.
The electoral commission recently commenced the public display of candidates’ nomination forms and personal particulars in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The published documents contain information on candidates’ educational backgrounds, academic qualifications and other personal details required by law.
A review of the nomination documents submitted by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Bola Tinubu, showed that he listed a Bachelor of Science degree from Chicago State University as his educational qualification.
However, the sections designated for the years of his primary and secondary school education reportedly contained the entry “0000.”
The entries have since generated reactions from members of the public and political observers, with some calling for further clarification regarding the information provided.
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In contrast, the nomination documents submitted by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, reportedly contained educational records tracing back to their primary school years.
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Oseni’s remarks appeared to highlight the differences in the level of educational information disclosed by the candidates.
The television presenter maintained that Nigerians should subject all aspirants seeking the country’s highest office to thorough scrutiny, particularly concerning information contained in official nomination documents.
INEC has stated that the publication of candidates’ personal particulars forms part of the statutory electoral process, allowing members of the public to examine the documents submitted by those seeking elective offices.
Under the provisions of the Electoral Act, any individual who believes that information contained in a candidate’s affidavit is false has the legal right to challenge it before a competent court.