Following the deposition by the Registrar of the Chicago State University (CSU) at a US court on the certificate presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Bola Tinubu which suggested that it did not emanate from the institution, former vice president Atiku Abubakar has declared that the reputation of Nigeria and its citizens is now at stake.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, he said his fight over the election outcome is not about him but the country’s future.
He said people look up to leaders to respect and defend the nation’s laws, noting that it should not take decades to confirm a simple matter such as a certificate.
Reading a prepared text, Atiku stated: “Gentlemen of the Press, Fellow Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I consider it important to address and report to you today on issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country.
“Political leadership and active citizenship matter because they are ways through which we all work together to build a country that works for all who live in it. Our country is bigger than any of us, and its standing in the world affects the fate of all who come from or live in it. As leaders, it is our duty to advance the well-being of all our people and of the country.
“For this purpose, my generation worked hard to return the soldiers to the barracks and to defend the right of the people to elect and establish for ourselves a legitimate government. Our elections are established and governed by law and founded on the constitution from which leadership and government in Nigeria alone derive their legitimacy.
“The people look up to us as leaders to respect these rules and, where necessary, to defend them. This is what brings us here. Today, we are called upon again as a people to uphold and defend the ground rules of elective government in our country.
“The constitution prescribes the requirements for those who seek the highest elective office in the land. It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office. We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons.
“The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake. That affects everyone, Nigerians everywhere. I am a democrat by conviction and a citizen of a country that I love.
“The issues at stake in this case require us once more to re-dedicate ourselves to both the country and our constitution. Now, we entrust these facts to us all as citizens and as leaders of the institutions charged with interpreting our constitution.
“I should thank the lawyers both in Nigeria and in the United States, who have assisted us in bringing clarity and definitive answers to these issues that appear to have defied our institutions for nearly a quarter of a century.”
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election praised the late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, for beginning the certificate confirmation process which he said has now been laid to rest.
He also commended the Nigerian media particularly one David Hundeyin for his effort to expose the forgery of the USC documents.
Atiku called on other political leaders including Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso to join him in the effort to ensure probity, accountability, equity and justice in the country.
The former vice president added: “I also want to extend my gratitude to Nigerian citizens and friends of Nigeria both within and beyond the shores of our country for their patience as we have sought to find the facts and establish the truth.
“I wish to pay tribute to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who inspired us on this path of discovery. Now, he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition.
“Gani’s vindication today gives credence to the saying that no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it. Former American President Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.’
“From exposing the Watergate scandal and unraveling the dubious certificates of politicians, journalists have maintained eternal vigilance by bridging the gap and stepping in when other arms of government failed.
“It is for these reasons that commendation must be given to David Hundeyin, an independent journalist whose extraordinary work and those of many more young people like him has become a source of inspiration.
“Special thanks must be given to the millions of Nigerian youths and citizen journalists too who continue to put out the truth online even when no one is listening. Indeed, the price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance. They have put the country first in their firm commitment to unravel the truth and hold leaders accountable.
“This gives me the hope that we have worthy partners in the struggle to reclaim the country we call home. This quest is not for or about Atiku Abubakar. It is a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in our public affairs.
“In line with this, therefore, I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, our community leaders, our political leaders, and in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP and, the leaders of every political party in Nigeria, and, indeed, every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, as I do, to join me in this campaign to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in our country and in our government.’
The former vice president denied that he betrayed Tinubu with his dogged fight to prove certificate forgery against him, recalling how he stopped former President Olusegun Obasanjo from taking over Lagos State in the 2003 general election.
According to Atiku, the president broke his relationship with him when he declined to pick him as his running mate under the Action Congress on Nigeria (ACN) in 2007.
When asked about the alleged betrayal, he posited: “But those of you who are old enough will remember that in 2003 the PDP took over all the southwestern states with the exception of Lagos. I stood between Obasanjo and himself and said, ‘no, you can’t take Lagos. Leave it.’ And he left it. So, who is indebted to the other? Is it me or Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
“There are other things which I would not want to go into but I vehemently deny that either I stabbed him in the back or did not do him whatever.”
He added: “It is true that in 2007 we came together to form AC. And in Lagos, at the convention, I emerged as the winner and got the ticket. After I got the ticket, he sent about five or six senior party men, some of them are here. I can even name names but I don’t want to embarrass them. And they met me and said to me that Bola wanted to be my running mate.
“I said gentlemen, you are all old enough and apparently, all of you are Christians apart from only one person. ‘What would be your reaction to having a Muslim-Muslim ticket? All of them said, ‘we totally object to it.’ I said then, why didn’t you tell him when he was giving you the message that ‘look, Mr. Tinubu, the message you are giving us, we don’t seem to agree with you.’ ‘Why are you coming to me?
“And that was the end of our political relationship. He broke away, went and supported Umaru Yar’Adua. So, where is the ground for him to say that I betrayed him?”
Atiku maintained his stance against Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, arguing: “I don’t believe in Muslim-Muslim ticket. I don’t have to be president because I don’t think it is right for this country. It is not right, absolutely wrong. We are multi-ethnic and multi-religious and our government should reflect our diversity in our composition.”
He reiterated that he had denied an audience to some governors purportedly sent to him by President Tinubu to convince him to abandon his case against the president, insisting that he is not under pressure to do so.
Atiku also maintained that he will not drop the case until the Supreme Court has adjudicated on the matter before it.
Asked if he is under pressure, he stated: “Not really, yes immediately after the election I was told there was a delegation of governors who claimed they were sent by the President, but I did not allow them to get into my house. I did not.”
He added: “If the court rules that I am right, if the court rules that he is right, that is the end of the fight. At the moment we are at the Supreme Court and there is no higher court than the Supreme Court.”
Atiku’s lawyer, Kalu Kalu, spoke on what was obtained from the University of Chicago following the US Court order and whether it will be useful in the Supreme Court, saying: “We were told that Bola Ahmed Tinubu forged the certificate he presented to INEC.
“Two, that the qualifying certificates from Southwest College to Chicago bears a female indicating that the document does not belong to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Three, the Chicago State University admission application form has a claim that Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended Government College, Lagos and graduated in 1970 when indeed, the school was established in 1974.
“The same document has it that the owner of that document is a black American and the document Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to INEC, he denied having dual citizenship, which means it does not belong to him.
“Then, the same document, oral deposition says that the ‘A’ Bola A Tinubu is Ahmed. But the NYSC certificate submitted to INEC has Adekunle. So I don’t know where the Ahmed and Adekunle emerged from.”
On its use in the Supreme Court, Kalu added: “It very clear that from decided authorities, the Supreme Court has held that they can accept a party to adduce fresh evidence, as long as certain conditions are met and from what transpired in the proceedings in US court that condition is going to be met.
“So as we speak, our Law is very clear that a party at fault cannot be allowed to enjoy the fruit of his illegality.”
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