… Why Tinubu’s certificate indicates female – President’s lawyer
… You can’t take Nigeria back to desert – APC chieftain
… ‘He should start preparations for 2027’
The last has not been heard on the deposition by the Registrar of Chicago State University (CSU), Caleb Westberg, of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records at a United States (U.S.) court. This as Tinubu’s closest rival in the 2023 Presidential election, Atiku Abubakar has vowed to continue fighting the president over what he referred to as “mysteries surrounding his certificate.”
The stand by Atiku, who was candidate of the Peoples Democartic Party (PDP) in the election has not gone down well with some ally of the president as the insist that he was fighting a lost cause.
Atiku, who is also Nigeria’s former vice president, the former vice president solicited the support of Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)’s counterpart, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to join his quest for “justice” in the certificate saga, according to him, “in entrenching legitimate governance in the country.”
Addressing a press conference, he stated: “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, religious leaders, traditional leaders, community leaders, political leaders, and in particular Obi and Kwankwaso, and indeed, every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, 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.
“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 is nothing personal.”
Atiku’s lawyer, Kalu Kalu (SAN), also expressed optimism over the development stating: “It is very clear that from second 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 U.S. courts, 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.”
Similarly, LP in response to Atiku’s invitation to the party to join forces with him in his quest to seek justice over the February 25 presidential election, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said they welcome every interest willing to join with them in their pursuit of a nation where justice reigns.
“Our presidential candidate, Obi, is presently in the Supreme Court seeking to reclaim his stolen mandate and he is focused on that.
“He has been in the vanguard of ensuring a just nation where justice must be the watchword, and he will not stop until Nigeria achieves the leadership it truly deserves,” the statement read in part.
According to the party official, Obi has advocated severally on the need for leaders to be good role models and to live a life worthy of emulation.
“This he has done by publicly putting his credentials in the open for verification. Nigeria will get better when men of integrity and honour drive the affairs of the nation,” Ifoh added.
APC backs Tinubu
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have since reacted to Atiku’s comment that Tinubu does not deserve to be President of Nigeria in a press statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.
The party urged Atiku to graciously accept defeat, noting he cannot get by subterfuge what he failed to get through the ballot box.”
The APC argued that Atiku’s quest to ridicule President Tinubu remained an exercise in futility, stating: “For several weeks now, Nigerians and the world have watched with incredulity Atiku’s display of utter desperation in his failed bid to become the President of Nigeria.
“The major takeaway from his show, especially at question time, was that Atiku harbours deep animosity towards Tinubu whom he believes was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year.
“In desperation, unbecoming of a statesman who once occupied the second highest office in the land, the PDP candidate has thrown every decency, decorum, dignity and national respectability out the window on his purposeless judicial voyage of discovery to the United States in search of a magic wand for taking power against the will of the Nigerian electorate loudly expressed in last February’s presidential election.
“Just for the record, we wish to provide some clarity on the matter of the deposition of Mr. Caleb Westberg, the Registrar of CSU, under oath at the Chicago office of Atiku’s lawyer, Angela Liu, to save unsuspecting Nigerians from barrage of untruths, distortions and campaign of misinformation being dished out by Atiku and his PDP.
“Westberg was unmistaken and unambiguous in his deposition as to the fact that President Tinubu graduated with honours from CSU. He also emphatically provided clear answers on all other issues raised, which we can sum as follows:
“That the person who is Nigeria’s president is the same person who attended CSU. He confirmed that a certain gentleman called Adeniji who had come forward to say he was Tinubu’s classmate was in fact a student at CSU at the same time and they both ran for student union positions.
“Westberg said the diploma certificate, on which the PDP and Atiku seek to gaslight Nigerians and the whole world, is just a ceremonial document and what proved studentship at Chicago State University and in any American university is transcript, not certificate.”
‘Why certificate indicates female’
In bid to give clarity on some of the issues that have been raised President Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Afolabi, has said that a mix-up at Chicago State University was the reason his certificate indicates “F” meant for a female.
Afolabi during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, said: “The transcript that was provided by Southwest College indicated F. It was clear. All of the other particulars did match information of President Bola Tinubu.
“Now, the registrar was interviewed on why the discrepancies. He said the person applying for the school ticked the box of a male not a female and when the admission letter was issued it was issued to Mr Tinubu.
“When the question was put to Dr West Brown, he said it is not unusual for universities to mix up. He (West Brown) has been to several universities. It is possible.”
On the discrepancies on the signatures on the certificate, Afolabi said that certificates were not issued at the time of graduation, until one applied for them.
He added that the person who issued the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC might not have been in the university in 1979.
However, a former spokesperson for Atiku, Segun Sowunmi, said that they were not sure if Tinubu attended Chicago State University.
“We have it on record that they are running left and right and cannot own the certificate which says he is female. There is a security number on that certificate linked to a female name. How do we know if he attended the school?”
It’s pre-election matter – Nabena
Conversely, a former Deputy National Publicity of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekeni Nabena, while speaking on the development said Nigerians have moved on with the leadership of President Tinubu, hence Atiku cannot take the nation back to desert.
Nabena said all the noise about Chicago State University certificate was a pre-election matter that has been forgotten.
Nabena in a press statement, on Friday in Abuja, the former vice president to rather start preparations for another contest in 2027 as usual rather than dragging the nation backwards.
He said contrary to media propaganda by Atiku and opposition parties; “The registrar of Chicago State University (CSU) Caleb Westberb never said President Tinubu forged the certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria.”
He urged the public to be careful of manipulative reports churning out by the opposition parties to cause confusion and seek public sympathy.
According to the APC chieftain, Nigeria is a sovereign state and until the highest court of the land says otherwise, President Bola Tinubu is still legitimately elected and will continue to pilot affairs of the country.
The Bayelsa-born politician called on party members, supporters of the president, and all Nigerians to disregard all attempts by the opposition parties to create unnecessary tension and make the country ungovernable.
Nabena also called attention of Nigerian Justices and Supreme Court to the contempt of court by Ahaji Atiku Abubakar against the matter already in court of law.
He said: “Let me use this medium to tell the former Vice President to start preparing for another election in 2027 as usual. Heating up the polity over pre-election matters will not make him President of Nigeria.
“Atiku Abubakar should know by now that Nigerians have moved on. The country is now enjoying good governance because this administration is responsive and responsible.
“See what is happening across ministries, departments and agencies; Nigerians will no longer wait for months to get their international passport when they apply, over 204,000 backlog has been cleared within three weeks, think about the welfare packages for the elderly by the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry, the bold step to remove the fuel subsidy that has held the country hostage for a long time, government intervention in all sectors like aviation, health, transport, economy, agriculture and security among others.
“This Renewed Hope Agenda is already working and Nigerians won’t allow anyone, including Atiku or Peter Obi to drag the Nation back to desert.”
Also commenting, a former Commissioner for Information in Edo state, Prince Kassim Afegbua, accused the PDP presidential candidate of being on a fishing expedition.
In an opinion titled: Atiku’s fishing expedition: Much ado about nothing, Afegbua said: “When the noise rented the air like a thunderbolt, one was tempted to conclude that there was substance in their agitations. Quite a few Atiku Abubakar’s media lapdogs appeared with leaked saliva all over their mouths, seemingly aroused by a false hope of catching President Tinubu pants down.
“Indeed, they have been running from one media house to another, trying to sustain a public discourse that would suggest that they have a case.
“This their latest drama is one of the most insanely and idiotic things I ever saw; their incoherent attempts at jackpot, moved further away from anything that could be considered rational with every stride; and, they have left everyone dumber for having listened to them in the first place.
“They turned themselves into courts of jurisdiction, and played the role of both the accuser and the Judge. They told us they had germane grounds of appeal; which grounds are pre-election matters. How can they be questioning President Tinubu’s eligibility to run now? Where were they when he declared his interest in becoming Nigeria’s president?
“This is the desperation I wrote about earlier. These guys are desperately trying to arm twist the process through the backdoor.”
According to the Afegbua, “If he has a good case, he doesn’t need his media rottweilers to bark at the Judges or Justices. All that is needed is a good presentation of the case, with verifiable evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
“This style of leaving substance and chasing shadows, and building a media buzz around it, won’t help him; not in this case, not at all.”
