Political economist Pat Utomi has criticised claims that Anthony Kila never attended school, describing such suggestions as unfair, while acknowledging that he cannot personally vouch for every aspect of Kila’s academic history.
Utomi expressed his views in a post on his verified Facebook page on Saturday, October 17, 2026, saying his personal knowledge of Kila did not support the sweeping claim that the embattled political commentator had no educational background.
The intervention comes amid growing scrutiny of Kila’s academic credentials following investigations by PREMIUM TIMES that questioned his professorial title and several degrees he had claimed to possess.
According to Utomi, he learnt about the controversy relatively late and had never examined Kila’s certificates or appointment letters. He therefore said he was not in a position to authenticate the documents himself.
However, he argued that the absence of documents available to him was not sufficient grounds for making an absolute claim about Kila’s entire educational history.
Utomi recalls meeting Kila in Cambridge
Utomi said he first met Kila in Cambridge, England, in 2006, when he was beginning a political campaign for Nigeria’s presidency.
He described Kila as a good person and questioned the intensity of the public reaction surrounding the controversy, particularly the tendency of online discussions to turn into personal attacks.
The economist also drew a comparison with the treatment of Jason Arday, a British sociologist who became one of the youngest Black professors appointed at the University of Cambridge.
Utomi said he was concerned about the consequences of online hostility and recalled what he described as the damaging treatment Arday received from critics.
He suggested that public criticism should remain proportionate and evidence-based, rather than becoming a campaign to destroy an individual’s reputation.
Economist recalls questions about his own academic background
Utomi also recounted experiences in which his own professional and academic credentials had attracted questions.
He recalled offering a N12 million reward to anyone who could produce evidence supporting a journalist’s suggestion that his time at Volkswagen Nigeria had contributed to the company’s eventual decline.
According to Utomi, nobody had come forward to claim the reward in the 15 years since he made the offer.
He further recalled doubts expressed about his appointment as the first professor of Pan-African Studies at the institution associated with Lagos Business School, now known as Pan-Atlantic University.
Utomi said the concerns were eventually put into perspective by the involvement of senior academics who knew his educational background and professional work.
Among those he cited were political scientist Adele Jinadu and Joe Umo of the University of Lagos, whom he said had encountered him during his postgraduate studies abroad.
He also referred to Elinor Ostrom, his former head of department, who later became the first woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Utomi’s account was intended to illustrate how incomplete information and unverified assumptions can affect the public perception of a person’s academic standing.
Academic credentials controversy continues
The controversy surrounding Kila intensified after PREMIUM TIMES published an investigation on October 3 questioning his use of the title of professor.
A follow-up investigation published on October 10 raised further questions about the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral qualifications Kila had claimed to obtain from institutions in Italy and the United Kingdom.
In its reports, the newspaper said some institutions disowned the qualifications attributed to them, while others said they did not offer the programmes associated with the claimed certificates.
Kila told PREMIUM TIMES that he was compiling his academic and professional records and contacting institutions connected to his claims. He had not provided the requested documentary evidence at the time covered by the newspaper’s follow-up report.
The reports prompted further institutional responses. ARISE News announced on October 13 that it would no longer feature Kila on its platforms, citing unanswered questions about his credentials.
Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, where Kila had served as pro-chancellor, also moved to suspend him from the position pending an investigation, according to published reports.
Despite the growing controversy, Utomi’s intervention focused on the distinction between questioning specific qualifications and asserting that a person has never received an education.
His position was that public scrutiny should be guided by verifiable evidence and fairness, even when serious questions have been raised about an individual’s credentials.
