Former Senate Leader and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ali Ndume, has challenged opposition parties to make President Bola Tinubu’s performance in office the centre of their 2027 campaign, rather than dwelling on controversies surrounding his academic credentials.

Ndume, in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, said the renewed debate over the President’s certificates was distracting political parties from issues that directly affect the lives of Nigerians.

According to him, opposition presidential hopefuls should be presenting clear alternatives to the policies of the Tinubu administration and explaining to Nigerians how they intend to govern differently if elected.

“The narrative around his certificate is distracting. What opposition presidential candidates should be doing is to tell Nigerians what they have to offer,” Ndume said.

He challenged the opposition to interrogate the administration’s economic policies and its handling of the nation’s security challenges, rather than allowing the controversy over the President’s credentials to dominate the political discourse.

“What are their alternative economic policies? What can they do better than President Tinubu?” he asked.

Ndume noted that Tinubu had been in office for more than three years, arguing that the opposition had enough record of the administration’s performance to subject to critical scrutiny ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said, “They should interrogate his economic policies and how his government has handled insecurity. The President has been in office for over three years now. So why should his certificates be the main talking point?”

The former Senate leader’s comments came amid renewed scrutiny of the educational information contained in the EC9 form submitted by President Tinubu, with attention drawn to the fact that the sections for primary and secondary education were left blank.

The development has continued to fuel arguments among opposition figures and other political actors, who have questioned aspects of the President’s academic history.

Ndume, however, maintained that the opposition would be better served by shifting the conversation from documentation and credentials to issues of governance, policy choices and the welfare of Nigerians.