Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says President Bola Tinubu should confront questions about his past rather than seek to withhold records of public interest.
Obi spoke in a statement titled ‘A President and the Endless
Question of His Past’ issued on Sunday, a day after Tinubu asked a United
States court to reject a motion seeking the release of records relating to
investigations allegedly involving him.
Tinubu, who joined the case as an intervenor, asked the US
district court for the district of Columbia to allow the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to maintain
redactions and withholdings in records already released.
The president’s lawyers argued that privacy provisions under
US law protect the records and that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does
not provide a basis for obtaining information about private individuals.
The case followed FOIA requests by Aaron Greenspan, founder
of PlainSite, for records concerning Tinubu, including FBI interview records
from 1992 to 1993.
The requests relate to investigative records concerning a
Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s. Tinubu was among four
individuals named in the requests.
In April 2025, Beryl Howell, a US district judge, ruled that
the FBI and DEA’s earlier refusal to confirm or deny whether they had records
relating to Tinubu was improper.
She ordered the agencies to search for and process
non-exempt records responsive to Greenspan’s requests. The agencies
subsequently released thousands of documents, some with redactions. Greenspan
later asked the court to order further disclosure.
‘IT’S PROFOUNDLY EMBARRASSING’
Reacting to the latest development, Obi said it was
“profoundly embarrassing” that a sitting president was asking a foreign court
to withhold records concerning his past, particularly records relating to
matters of legitimate public interest.
“It is profoundly embarrassing that we have reached a point
where a sitting President is asking a foreign court to withhold records
concerning his past, particularly records relating to matters of legitimate
public interest,” Obi said.
He said leadership required the courage and humility to
confront one’s history, acknowledge mistakes and provide candid explanations
where questions arise.
Obi said true authority is strengthened, rather than
diminished, when a leader accepts responsibility instead of shielding
uncomfortable aspects of the past from legitimate scrutiny, and puts national interest above personal
ambition.
He said this was particularly important when questions
concerned educational credentials.
“Issues surrounding foundational schooling — primary and
secondary — should not remain unresolved or be addressed primarily through
legal proceedings,” he said.
Obi added that Nigerians deserved “clear, credible, and
verifiable explanations”, especially where such information had been submitted
in the past.
He said his deepest concern was the example the situation
could set for more than 200 million Nigerians, particularly the more than 30
million young people in schools.
“The nation’s highest office should exemplify integrity,
accountability, transparency, and ethical leadership,” he added.
Obi questioned when Nigeria’s political class would fully
appreciate that individual ambitions were temporary compared to national
interests.
He said Nigeria was greater than any one person and that the
integrity of the republic should always come before individual interests.
“The Presidency is an office held for a season; the moral
standards established by those who occupy it can influence generations,” he
added.
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