By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Former Vice-President and 2027 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has claimed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is 90 years old, saying he has evidence to prove it and would present the evidence in court. However, available official records do not support the claim that Tinubu is 90.
What did Atiku actually say?
In an interview with BBC Hausa published on Friday, Atiku was asked about concerns over his age as he prepares to contest the 2027 presidential election.
He responded by referring to Tinubu and said: “You went and voted for someone who is 80, I mean 90 years old. How old is President Bola, 90?”
When the interviewer challenged the assertion, Atiku maintained that he had evidence.
“I have evidence that he is [90], and I will present it in court.”
Atiku, however, did not present that evidence in the interview.
What do official records say?
President Tinubu’s publicly stated date of birth is March 29, 1952.
If that date is correct, Tinubu turned 74 on March 29, 2026, not 90.
More importantly, this is not simply information repeated by a political campaign.
On March 29, 2026, the State House published Tinubu’s own birthday message in which he explicitly referred to his 74th birthday.
The State House’s official biography also identifies Tinubu as President of Nigeria, although the page accessed in this search does not display his date of birth.
The APC’s official biography gives his birth date as March 29, 1952, and says he was born in Lagos.
There is also a particularly significant piece of current evidence: documents submitted for the 2027 election and displayed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reportedly list Tinubu’s date of birth as March 29, 1952 and his age as 74.
But there ARE discrepancies in Tinubu’s records
This is where the fact-check needs nuance.
There have previously been discrepancies in documents associated with Tinubu’s educational records.
Documents released by Chicago State University (CSU) in 2023 contained different dates of birth. One transcript reportedly gave March 29, 1954, while an undergraduate application gave March 29, 1955. His official records submitted to INEC, however, gave March 29, 1952.
Those discrepancies have fuelled longstanding questions about Tinubu’s age and academic records.
But they do not establish that Tinubu is 90.
Even the 1954 or 1955 dates would make him only 72 or 71 in 2026, not 90.
What about the 1996 photograph?
Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has also challenged Atiku’s claim, publishing a photograph he says shows Tinubu with journalist Dele Momodu in London in 1996.
Omokri argued that if Tinubu were 90 in 2026, he would have been 60 years old in 1996, and challenged Nigerians to judge whether the person in the photograph appeared to be 60. He also called on Momodu to authenticate the photograph’s date and location.
However, a person’s apparent age in a photograph is not reliable evidence of their actual age. Therefore, the photograph should not itself be used to prove Tinubu’s age.
FACT-CHECK VERDICT
CLAIM: President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old.
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING CLAIM: Atiku says he possesses evidence but has not publicly produced it in the interview.
OFFICIAL/PUBLIC RECORD: Tinubu’s stated date of birth is March 29, 1952, making him 74 years old as of August 28, 2026. The State House recognised his 74th birthday in March, while current election-related documents reportedly list the same date.
COMPLICATION: Historical Chicago State University records contain different birth dates—1954 and 1955, but neither supports the claim that Tinubu is 90.
VERDICT: FALSE/UNSUBSTANTIATED
There is no credible public evidence currently available establishing that Tinubu is 90 years old. The available official and election records put his age at 74. Atiku’s assertion therefore cannot presently be verified and is contradicted by the available public record.
If Atiku eventually produces the evidence he says he has, the claim can be reassessed. Until then, it would be journalistically unsafe to report “Tinubu is 90” as a fact; it should be attributed specifically to Atiku as an unverified allegation.
