The former Minister of Sports and Youth, Solomon Dalung, has said the handlers of President Bola Tinubu’s certificate saga are not managing it well.

Dalung said Tinubu’s aides are giving his critics the opportunity to find more faults in the saga, about the way they have handled it so far.

The former minister said this during a live appearance on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.

He also offered some insight into his reason for posting his academic records on social media, which many interpreted to be a reference to the controversy over President Bola Tinubu’s academic records.

Dalung said this as agitations persist over the release of Tinubu’s certificate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by the Chicago State University (CSU), as ordered by a US court.

The ex-minister took to X on Saturday to post his 1990 West African Education Council (WAEC) certificate, Certificate of Call to the Bar, as well as his Bachelor of Law and Master of Laws certificates both from the University of Jos.

“I am an alumni of the University of Jos, Nigeria. I surrender my academic records for public scrutiny…,” he wrote.

Asked what the rationale was behind the post, he said, “I voluntarily made my credentials available for public scrutiny. The reason behind this decision stems from the ongoing intense international and national brouhaha surrounding the issue of academic credentials in Nigeria.

“The President of Nigeria and his political allies are going from one court to another in America and Nigeria regarding their credentials. Now, what is going on has made everyone in Nigeria who owns a certificate a suspect.”

“I have also put my certificate out publicly. If anyone is not satisfied, they can also go to court to compel the University of Jos to release my transcript.”

Speaking about the president’s certificate saga, Dalung said, “I have a lot of respect for the President. I don’t envy him with whatever he is going through with this certificate thing. I think it is being mismanaged by his handlers. Those who are creating more problems of this issue are his handlers.

“The more they talk, the more they introduce new issues that people capitalise on to add more burden on the President. This affects the President directly.”