Indications emerged on Monday that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s insistence on open disclosure of President Bola Tinubu’s Chicago State University credentials is to expose the president’s shady past at the Supreme Court.
The former Vice President and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had last week appealed against the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which dismissed his case against President Tinubu’s declarations by the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC)
Pedro Obaseki, Director of Research and Documentation of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization, stated this on Monday, while speaking via zoom conference hosted by Gold Emmanuel, a psychologist based in London.
Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the release of the document, which Jeffrey Gilbert, the Magistrate of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, had on September 19, given orders of the CSU to release the records to Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), based on his lawsuit.
But Tinubu appealed the ruling authorising the release, saying that such action will cause him “severe and irreparable harm” and may cause damages to his case at the Supreme Court
Obaseki’s claims is coming ahead of expected release of the document by the Chicago State University( CSU), insisting that the apex Court will accept compelling fresh evidence.
Obaseki who dismissed the President’s claims that the public disclosure of his CSU documents would cause irreparable damage to him, said “Nigerians would be more shocked to know that the owner of the certificate in question is a woman”.
According to Obaseki, “Nigerians will be more demoralised that the owner of the certificate that President Tinubu is parading is a woman. We already know it as a fact, but we are seeking the release of the documents officially by CSU.”
The PDP official opined that the outcome will give many Nigerians more heart attack, but added that “ the outcome will strengthen Atiku’s case at the Supreme Court”.
“Atiku is seeking an open disclose of Tinubu’s CSU documents because it is believed that the Supreme Court of Nigeria may be compelled to listen to fresh evidence in the petitions already submitted to it.
” even when the court of first instance and the appellate court have convicted someone to death and minutes before the supreme court gives it’s final judgement and there arose a fresh and compelling facts and evidence, the apex court is bound to listen to the fresh facts before making it’s final judgement.
“It is an unwritten proviso that where there is a compelling factual facts other than what is already obtained in the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), that the Supreme Court will be bound to accept the new facts of law and rule on them,” the Director of Research and Documentations of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation declared.
The Atiku/Okowa director of research and documentation also condemned the earlier judgement of the PEPC as it was a journey to manufacture evidence, explaining that the 1999 constitution which is the ground norm of the present presidential system in Nigeria does not recognise the Federal Capital Territory as a state.
“Abuja cannot be called a state. A state as stipulated in the 1999 constitution must have a state assembly of its own. A state must have a governor. Abuja as presently constituted is not a state.”
Read also: Tinubu’s academic records: Legal battle to resume in US Court Monday
“FCT or Abuja as the case may be is patterned after Washington in the United States of America. It is such made so that no one part of the country can claim it. It is home to all Nigerians. The FCT was carved out of Niger state, Kogi state, Benue state and Nasarawa state. It cannot be declared a state by the PEPC.
“The PEPC cannot amend the 1999 constitution through the back door. There are processes to do that. This is one important issue that the supreme court must address”, he stressed.
He accused President Tinubu of arresting development in Nigeria through the stagnation of the economy and introduction of policies that has driven many Nigerians into poverty.
“In one full swoop of three words, he removed the fuel subsidy without caring of the consequences to the already multi dimensional poverty in Nigeria. He devalued the naira among other policies that has negatively affected the economy.”, he said.
He said that it is in the hands of the Supreme court to bring justice to Nigerians, while rejecting calls for a military coup, stating that the best coup is the peoples coup because power belongs to the people.
Obaseki also called for the criminal prosecution of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu for putting Nigeria into the current mess, while accusing the INEC chairman of manipulating the electoral process in favour of the All Progressives Congress.
“INEC abandoned all the policies it advocated that would ensure a free and fair election in the country” asking does it not sound curious that two elections took place same time, one result was transmitted electronically and the other was not.
