The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said only the outcome of the Supreme Court case against President Bola Tinubu will end his political feud with the President.
The former Vice President stated this just as the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, lashed out at him for faulting Tinubu’s academic records, in spite of depositions by the Chicago State University, CSU, that Tinubu attended and graduated from the school.
Atiku, who spoke while answering questions from newsmen at a World Press Conference, in Abuja, yesterday, following his receipt of President Tinubu’s academic records from the university, also revealed that he denied the President’s emissaries entry into his residence soon after the February 25, 2023, presidential poll.
According to him, he was made aware that a delegation, led by APC governors, acting at the behest of the President, were at his residence to meet with him probably to plead with him to accept defeat but “I did not allow them in.”
He also said he wasn’t afraid of any of his business interests being targeted as a result of his legal challenge to the President’s electoral victory.
Atiku noted that he has since been stripped of his logistics business which was the main business that had some form of government involvement when President Muhammadu Buhari took power in 2015.
He said: “As soon as Buhari came, all our logistics contracts business were revoked till today. I’m not afraid of my businesses being affected, I’m not doing any government business. I will only leave this fight when the court rules. We are at the Supreme Court.”
The former Vice President explained that he undertook the journey to unravel the myriad of controversies surrounding the identity and credentials of President Bola Tinubu because it formed part of larger issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country.
He noted that 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.
Atiku said: “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.
We must respect our electoral laws
“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.”
The former Vice President further said: “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 rededicate 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.
“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 unravelling 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 have 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.”
He further stated what was at stake was beyond his person, as Atiku Abubakar.
