Presidential candidate of opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President (VP) Atiku Abubakar has headed to court against President Bola Tinubu over the alleged discrepancies in the President’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.
Abubakar, popularly known simply as Atiku, prayed the court to stop Tinubu from seeking re-election in 2027 on the basis of the alleged discrepancies which, to him, amounted to forgery.
Atiku filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja today, alleging that Tinubu presented a forged NYSC discharge certificate to electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the 2023 and 2027 presidential election candidates’ clearing processes.
The former VP, who was present at the court, prayed it to dump Tinubu out of the race for 2027 over the alleged discrepancies surrounding the certificate submitted to INEC.
Giving details, the former VP alleged that Tinubu submitted an NYSC Discharge Certificate bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle”, which, according to Atiku, is different from the President’s name of “Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The controversy over Tinubu’s academic and official records has been a significant feature since the President was governor of Lagos State in 1999, with opposition figures consistently picking holes in documents relating to his past.
The vexed matter of Tinubu’s past being questioned and described by his opponents as murky and, according to them, needing straightening out, is also presently the subject of a petition fired to the European Union (EU) this week as well as a long-time legal case in the United States (US).
The EU petition alleged that Tinubu’s lack of constitutionally-requisite academic credentials to hold Nigeria’s number one seat, amounts to a threat to the country’s constitutional democracy.
The latest development was disclosed by Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, in a post on his X handle today.
According to Ibe, Barrister Kalu Kalu submitted the EU petition in Brussels, Belgium, urging European institutions to examine issues relating to President Tinubu’s alleged certificate forgery, questions surrounding documents submitted for election, and the 1993 civil forfeiture of $460,000 in the US linked to a drug investigation.
According to the spokesman, the petition was part of efforts to draw international attention to what Atiku’s camp described as unresolved questions concerning Tinubu’s records and the Nigerian democratic process.
Part of the statement read: “The issues of President Bola Tinubu’s alleged forgery of certificates and documents and forfeiture of $460,000 linked to heroin trafficking in the United States is not going away anytime soon.
“Here’s Barr. Kalu Kalu submitting a petition to the European Commission in Brussels on this and Tinubu’s threat to our constitutional democracy.”
The Federal High Court matter is seen as another plank in Atiku’s bid to challenge Tinubu’s eligibility to run in 2027.
Atiku, who ran a losing contest against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has since joined the ADC.
Nigerians wait with bated breath to witness how the latest court case and EU petition unfold even as the results from any or both actions may have implications for the 2027 elections.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Atiku (left) and Tinubu.
