Atiku Questions Tinubu’s Claim of Graduating With Alex Zingman: “He Would’ve Been Just 13 in 1979”

Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has cast doubt on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent claim about his college days.

According to a report by The Cable posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, President Tinubu introduced a man named Alex Zingman during a public event, referring to him as a longtime friend, former neighbor, and classmate from Chicago State University. Tinubu also said the university would be proud that he became President, while Zingman is now a successful businessman.

However, Atiku responded by questioning the credibility of Tinubu’s statement, pointing to a significant age gap between the two men. He argued that if Zingman truly graduated alongside Tinubu in 1979, it would mean he was extraordinarily young at the time.

“By the year 1979, when President Tinubu claims to have graduated from CSU, Mr. Zingman would have been only 13 years old,” Atiku said, as reported by The Cable.

He further remarked that if Zingman did graduate at that age, “he should have made it to the Guinness Book of Records.”

Atiku’s response has sparked fresh debate over President Tinubu’s academic history and his associates.