The electoral commission begins public scrutiny of Form EC9 submissions, including the credentials and personal details of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the mandatory public display of personal details, academic qualifications and supporting documents submitted by presidential candidates for the 2027 general election, with the nomination papers of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Vice President Kashim Shettima, among the first documents made available for public scrutiny on Saturday.

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The disclosure gives voters, political parties and other interested members of the public an opportunity to examine the information submitted by candidates ahead of the presidential election, in line with the electoral framework governing the nomination process.

Documents reviewed from Tinubu’s Form EC9 show that the President obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Chicago State University in the United States, graduating “with honours” on June 22, 1979.

His National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) records indicate that he was deployed to Oyo State, where he began his mandatory service in December 1982 and completed it in November 1983.

Tinubu’s employment history, as declared on the nomination form, includes three major periods.

The record shows that he worked with Mobil Nigeria Limited for nine years, from 1983 to 1992, before leaving for what was described as “career advancement”.

The form also lists his eight-year tenure with the Lagos State Government between 1999 and 2007, which ended upon the “expiration of statutory tenure”.

His current employment is listed as continuous service with the Federal Government of Nigeria since 2023.

The disclosed form lists Tinubu’s date of birth as March 29, 1952, making him 74 years old. His place of birth is recorded as Lagos, while his occupation is listed as “politician”.

The form also contains an address in Ikoyi, Lagos, while the fields relating to the dates of his primary and secondary school attendance are marked “0000”. His university qualification is explicitly recorded in the academic section of the document.

Shettima’s submitted records provide a more detailed chronology of his educational background, beginning with his primary education.

His First School Leaving Certificate, issued by the then Ministry of Education, North-Eastern State, records his attendance at Lamisula I Primary School between 1972 and 1978.

The document states that he graduated second in a class of 22, with strong performances in English, History and Religious Knowledge.

His West African Examinations Council results from Government Secondary School, Potiskum, dated June 1983, show six passes and credits, including distinctions in Religious Knowledge and Economics.

Shettima subsequently attended the University of Maiduguri, where he obtained a Second Class Upper Honours degree in Agriculture in August 1989.

He later earned a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan.

His NYSC records place his mandatory service between October 1989 and October 1990.

The public display of the candidates’ records is a statutory requirement under Section 29(3) of the 2026 Electoral Act, which requires INEC to publish candidates’ particulars within 21 days of receiving their nomination submissions.

The commission said the process was intended to provide transparency around the information supplied by candidates and allow members of the public to scrutinise the records before the election.

An official statement from INEC said, “Form EC9 comprises all relevant credentials, personal particulars and sworn affidavits submitted by candidates on behalf of their political parties.”

According to reports, the documents are available for public inspection at INEC offices across the states, including the commission’s Lagos State office in Sabo-Yaba, as well as designated local government offices covering relevant constituencies nationwide.

The disclosure comes as political parties prepare for what is expected to be a closely watched 2027 presidential contest, with voters and political stakeholders likely to pay close attention to the qualifications and personal information submitted by candidates.

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For INEC, the exercise represents an important transparency measure in the electoral process, allowing the public to examine the information candidates have formally declared before the country heads into another major general election.