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.