The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the February general elections, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, said he did not betray President Bola Tinubu, over the allegation of certificate forgery he levelled against him at the court.
Atiku stated that Bola Tinubu abandoned him and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2007 presidential election and supported Umaru Yar’Adua of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He mentioned that he played a role in preventing former President Olusegun Obasanjo from taking over Lagos State during the 2007 general elections.
Atiku emphasized his commitment to proving his allegations of certificate forgery against Tinubu. The APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, criticized Atiku’s press conference as an “ill-timed attack” on Tinubu.
They accused Atiku of making baseless claims and referred to his allegations as “lies, mindless distortions, and deliberate falsehood.”
The APC expressed their lack of concern over Atiku’s claims and characterized them as lacking purpose.
Atiku affirmed his determination not to give up on his quest to prove that Tinubu forged the Chicago State University certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the 2023 presidential elections.
He called on other presidential candidates, such as Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, to support his pursuit of justice.
He expressed concern that Nigeria’s reputation was at stake and stressed the importance of upholding the country’s constitution.
Atiku had filed an election petition appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld Tinubu’s victory.
He also sought the academic records of President Tinubu from the Chicago State University to support his allegation of certificate forgery.He revealed, “In 2007, we came together to form ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria) and in Lagos at the convention, I emerged and got the ticket. And after the convention, a few of our friends who are here met me and told me Bola wanted to be my running mate. So, I asked for their opinion on Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“All of them said they objected. So, I asked them why didn’t they tell him? So, that was the end of our political relationship; it broke away as he went ahead and supported Yar’adua. So where is the ground for him to say I betrayed him?’’
Speaking further, he added, “Those of you who are old enough will remember that in 2003 the PDP took over all the states in the South-West, with the exception of Lagos. I stood before Obasanjo and said no, you can’t take Lagos. And he left it. So, who is indebted to the other: Is it me or Tinubu? Tinubu is indebted to me.’’
The PDP presidential candidate, who lamented how former President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly dealt with some of his business entities, said he was not scared Tinubu would go after his business interest, adding “It has already been taken away from me since the Buhari administration. They took it and distributed it among themselves.”