Tamunoemi David-West, a professor and former minister of petroleum and energy, has suggested that President Goodluck Jonathan does not have a doctorate degree from the University of Port Harcourt as widely believed.Ahead of the February 14 presidential election, one of the popular comparisons of Jonathan with Muhammadu Buhari, the two leading candidates, is that the president possesses a doctorate degree while his opponent does not even have a secondary school leaving certificate.
But speaking in Asari Toru, Rivers state, at the governorship campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC), David-West said that all efforts to trace the thesis for which Jonathan was awarded a Ph.D. in Zoology by the University of Port Harcourt, had proved abortive.
David-West urged Rivers people to vote for Dakuku Peterside, saying he had not lied about his academic qualifications. “Dakuku Peterside is God-fearing and without the fear of God, we cannot move forward, both at the state and federal level,” he said.
“Another reason is that I have discovered Peterside’s thesis: Corporate Political Strategy, but I have asked and I stand here on my honour, I have asked people to look for the thesis of my brother Jonathan and they have not found it. “I sent another person and said ‘If you have not found the thesis, go and look for the title’.
He came back to say, Oga I no see am. “I am not saying that he lied but I want to see. I have been a professor since 1974. If you say you have Ph.D., the least I want from you is to give me the thesis, which university and where you got it. “My name is Tamuno, which means there is God.
If you are lying, there is God o. I advise our brother to look for his shoes and leave. Why am I in love with APC? It is because its members are God-fearing. One of the problems with Nigeria is that there are so many politicians but few statesmen.”
