The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu has insisted that his birth, academic, and professional records are consistent, adding that his critics are only wasting their time and money.
Tinubu, 70, stated this during an appearance at Chatham House in London, the United Kingdom.
He spoke on the topic: 'Nigeria's 2023 Elections: Security & Economic Development and Its Foreign Policy Imperatives'.
His comments follows controversy over his early days but said his detractors can request a DNA test to validate that he is indeed a scion of the Tinubu family.
Asked to clear the air on some of the issues surrounding his formative years, Tinubu said the question is "inquisitive but at the time of birth, I was dated March 29, 1952".
"I've had a very good exposure in life, my record is consistent in the school, in the university, they (critics) are now convinced that they wasted their money and their time. The record is there, the transcript is there showing March 1952," he said.
Tinubu insisted that he remains a proper member of the Tinubu family, slamming an unnamed presidential candidate accused of not being a Nigeria.
"I'm not claiming another father, I am Tinubu and Tinubu proper. If they want a DNA, they could as well request from us. One of them has even been accused of not being a Nigerian citizen, I didn't touch that area.
"Equally, it remains the same, Deloitte, Chicago State University where I graduated from has attested to that. Now, I can announce that I have received my original replacement degree certificate from them," he explained.
The APC presidential candidate said none of his contenders can match his professional records which he described as "outstanding".
"Deloitte trained me as an accountant. Mobil Oil has attested to my record, outstanding record, I got to the pinnacle of my career in the private sector. Who among them can brag about that?" he queried.
The presidential candidate said Nigerians in the diaspora should be entitled to vote but noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to assure Nigerians that the electronic transmission of election results is reliable.
Asked on his plans for diaspora voting, the former governor of Lagos State said, "If you make contributions to the economy with the remittances that you are making, your right to vote should not be abrogated but promoted."
"However, we are still building confidence in our democratic and voting system. INEC is still yet to assure us during this election that electronic transmission; the technology being used for accreditation, and the total votes count is reliable, dependable and assuring in our democratic process before we introduce a complicated element of ballot," he stated.
Of late, there have been reports that politicians who are against the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV) attempt to use the court to stop INEC from deploying BVAS in the 2023 general elections but the electoral body has consistently restated its commitment and determination to deploy the system for the 2023 general elections.
BVAS is stipulated in the Electoral Act of 2022 and is a technological system which allows for accreditation of voters through biometrics capturing, uploading of results amongst others.
It has been described by many as an upgrade of the smartcard reader used in the last general elections which achieved some results in the country's electoral process.
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