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Tag: Atiku Abubakar

  • APC disputes Atiku’s claim on being Nigerian by birth

    Farther than subside, the controversy over whether former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 presidential poll is a Nigerian by birth, is still raging.

    A man, who claims to be a close friend of Garba Abubakar, Atiku’s late father, alleged that neither of his parents was a Nigerian.

    The unnamed family friend, in fresh documents filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the Presidential  Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja, also gave details of Atiku’s early years and how his father died.

    But, Atiku declined to comment last night, saying he had earlier responded to the issue.

    The deponent’s claim varies from that of Atiku, who insists that his parents were Nigerians.

    It all started when the APC, in its response to Atiku’s petition at the tribunal, argued that he was not a Nigerian by birth.

    Claiming that it possessed evidence to support its claim, the party alleged that because Atiku is not a Nigerian by birth, he was not qualified, under Section 131(a) of the Constitution to contest for the office of President.

    Responding, Atiku said he was a Nigerian by birth because his parents were Nigerians.

    “The parents of the 1st petitioner (Atiku) are both Fulani, a community/tribe indigenous to Nigeria.

    “The 1st petitioner was born on 25th November, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian parents and he is therefore a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

    “The 1st petitioner’s mother, Aisha Kande was the grand-daughter of Inuwa Dutse who came to Jada as an itinerant trader too from Dutse in present day Jigawa State.

    “The 1st petitioner’s father, Garba Atiku Abubakar was a Nigerian by birth who hailed from Wumo in present day Sokoto State while the mother, Aisha Kande was also a Nigerian who hailed from Dutse in present day Jigawa State.

    But, in a statement filed by an APC witness, simply identified with the initials – ADM – the party repudiate Atiku’s claim.

    The witness said: “l, ADM, adult, Nigerian citizen of Adamawa State do hereby make oath and say as follows:

    “That I was a close family friend to the 1st petitioner’s late father. I know the family and I am familiar with the 1st petitioner’s background: who was born on the 25th day of November, 1946 to a Fulani trader and farmer by name Garba Abubakar, from his second wife, Aisha Kande, in Jada village of Northern Cameroon.

    “I know the 1st petitioner was named after his paternal grandfather, Atiku Abdulkadir and became the only child of his parents after his only sister died at infancy.

    “I also know about the unfortunate incidence of the death of the 1st petitioner’s father in 1957, who drowned while crossing a river to Toungo. a neighbouring village to Jada in Northern Cameroon.

    “I do know that the 1st petitioner has, in all his documentations that are made public in national dailies or official gazettes, stated that he hails from Jada town in Adamawa State, from Ganye Local Government Area, regarded as the mother of the whole Chamba ethnic group (Chamba tribe).

    “I know as a fact that, as at the time the 1st petitioner was born on the 25th day of November, 1946 to a FulanI trader and farmer, Garba Abubakar, Jada village and other parts of Chamba land in the then Northern Cameroon, were still part of the British Cameroons and not Nigeria.

    “None of the 1st petitioner’s parents or grandparents was born in Nigeria.

    “The 1st petitioner‘s father died as a citizen of Northern Cameroon in 1957 prior to the referendum of 1st June, 1961 which made Northern Cameroon to become part of Nigeria.

    “The 1st petitioner’s ancestral origin is deeply rooted in the then Northern Cameroon, not Nigeria and I know as a fact that the 1st petitioner is not a Nigerian citizen by birth

    “I know that Ganye which incorporates the 1st petitioner’s birth place of Jada, was the headquarters of British Cameroons, but it joined Nigeria after the plebiscite.

    “I know that Ganye was not part of Nigeria as at the time of the birth of the 1st petitioner; on 25th November 1946.

    “I am familiar with the historical antecedents of the birth place of the 1st petitioner.

    “Ganye area had been entrusted to Britain by a League of Nations Mandate in 1919 and later as Trust Territory by the United Nations in 1946.

    “With the defeat of Germany in World War I. Kamerun (as it was known at the time) became a League of Nations Mandate Territory and was split into French Cameroons and British Cameroons in 1919

    “While France integrated the economy of its part of the Cameroons with that of the mother colonial France, the British on the other hand, administered its part (British Cameroons) from neighbouring Nigeria, making Jada, the 1st petitioner’s place of birth, a British franchise.

    “I know that a plebiscite was held in British Cameroons to determine whether the people in that territory preferred to stay in Cameroon or unite with Nigeria.

    “While Northern Cameroon preferred a union with Nigeria, the Southern Cameroon chose to align with the mother country.

    “I know that on the 1st of June 1961, Northern Cameroon became a part of Nigeria and on the 1st of October 1961 the Southern Cameroonian territory dissolved and merged into the Republic of Cameroon.”

    An aide to Atiku told The Nation last night that his principal would not respond to the issue.

    According to the aide, the PDP president candidate had responded to the controversies stirred by the APC on his nationality.

    Faulting the APC claim that he is not a Nigerian by birth and, therefore, not fit to be President, the former vice president, said he is a Nigerian by birth and was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian parents.

    He made the assertion in a joint reply he filed with his party to the APC’s response against their petition before the tribunal.

    Atiku, who gave details of his early life, also spoke about his working life and political career to support his claim that he is a Nigerian by birth.

    Atiku and the PDP argued that it was late in the day for the APC to query his qualification for the election, having not done so at the pre-election stage.

  • Atiku is our grandson, says Jigawa monarch

    AN official of the Dutse Emirate Council in Jigawa State yesterday claimed the mother of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was from the state.

    The royal father, who did not want to be named, said Atiku’s mother was the daughter of late Abdullahi from Jigawar Sarki in Jigawa State.

    He told reporters in Dutse, the state capital, that he craved anonymity because the issue of Atiku’s origin had been politicised.

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)  had alleged that Atiku is not a citizen of Nigeria and, therefore, not qualified to contest the presidential election.

    Countering a petition filed by Atiku to challenge the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 election, the ruling party argued that the former vice president was born on November 25, 1946, in Jada, Adamawa State, which was then in Northern Cameroon.

    Read also: I’m a Nigerian by birth, Atiku replies APC

    But the monarch dismissed the point raised by the APC.

    ”As a royal father in Jigawa, I don’t want my name to be mentioned because they have politicised the whole issue.

    “However, I can confirm that the late Mrs. Kande was from Dutse and her uncle, Adamu Ma’aruf, was the Chief Imam of Dutse Central Mosque until he died five years after the creation of the state in 1991,” he said.

    Isyaku Adamu, a centenarian, also corroborated what the royal father said.

    He said Atiku’s mother, who was known as “Kande Yar-Malam”, married Garba, Atiku’s father, who came from Sokoto.

    “He settled at our house, popularly called ‘Gidan Malamai’ (Scholars’ House). There, he met and married Kande and took her to present day Adamawa State, where Abubakar was born,” he told reporters.

    “Abubakar’s mother, Kande, was junior to Alhaji Ali and Azumi; they are all late now. Kande was our daughter and Abubakar is our grandson. We are all Fulani by tribe; our forefathers are scholars here in Dutse, that’s why our home is called Gidan Malamai.”

    Atiku has insisted that he was born by Nigerian parents and he is, therefore, a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

  • Atiku condemns killing of British aid worker, Nigerian partner

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the killing of a British aid worker, Faye Mooney, and her Nigerian partner, Mathew Oguche, in the line of duty in Kaduna State.

    In a statement condemning the killers, Atiku said: “We need to keep Nigeria safe for Nigerians and foreigners. The death of any Nigerian or foreigner from terror, crime or insecurity grieves my heart. Nobody’s life is worth taking to advance a religious, political or criminal cause.

    “I condemn the killing of …Faye Mooney, and …Mathew Oguche two days ago in Kaduna State. Several other Nigerians were kidnapped during the episode. I want the government and people of the United Kingdom (UK) to know that these atrocious actions do not reflect Nigeria’s national character.

    Read also: Killers of Briton demand N60m ransom for kidnap victims

    “These killings must end or Nigeria will lose desperately needed friends, partners and investors. Not only do I condemn this recent killing, but I make an urgent call for the Federal and state authorities to track down the culprits and make them pay for their crimes. The time for empty rhetoric is long gone. Now is the time for urgent national action to stem insecurity.

    “Nigeria must once again become synonymous with peace, progress and prosperity. This can only happen when crime and punishment are a natural cause and effect.

    “As long as there is impunity, our nation will lack unity and security. Impunity must end and must end in earnest. These crimes continue to reoccur because previous killings have not been met with justice.

    “When the punishment for crimes is not forthcoming, criminals are emboldened to commit even worse crimes.”

     

  • I’m a Nigerian by birth, Atiku replies APC

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has faulted the claim by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he is not a Nigerian by birth and, therefore, not fit to be President.

    Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the February 23 presidential election, said he is a Nigerian by birth and was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian parents and he is, therefore, a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

    He said this in a joint reply he filed with his party to the response filed by the APC against their petition before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

    Atiku, who gave details of his early life, also spoke about his working life and political career in Nigeria to support his claim that he is and has always been a Nigerian by birth.

    Atiku and the PDP argued that it was late in the day for the APC to query his qualification for the election, having not done so at the pre-election stage.

    They said: “Contrary to the allegations contained in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the 3rd respondent’s (APC’s) reply, the petitioners state that the 1st petitioner (Atiku) is a citizen of Nigeria by birth and thus qualified to vote and be voted for and returned in the election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, held on Saturday 23rd February, 2019, going by the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    Read also: I have always defeated Atiku, Buhari tells tribunal

    “The 1st petitioner was born on 25th November, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian parents and he is therefore a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

    “The 1st petitioner’s father, Garba Atiku Abdulkadir, was a Nigerian by birth who hailed from Wumo in present day Sokoto State while the mother, Aisha Kande was also a Nigerian who hailed from Dutse in present day Jigawa State.

    “The parents of the 1st Petitioner are both Fulani, a community/tribe indigenous to Nigeria.

    “The birth of the 1st petitioner in Jada, in present day Adamawa State of Nigeria was occasioned by the movement of his paternal grandfather called Atiku who was an itinerant trader, from Wumo in present day Sokoto State to Jada in the company of his friend, Ardo Usman.

    “That in Jada, Atiku, the grandfather of the 1st petitioner, gave birth to Garba who in tum gave birth to the 1st Petitioner and named him after his own father Atiku.

    “The 1st petitioner’s mother, Aisha Kande, was the grand-daughter of Inuwa Dutse who came to Jada as an itinerant trader too from Dutse in present day Jigawa State.

    “All averments concerning Germany, British Cameroons, League of Nations and Plebiscite are false and misleading in relation to the 1st Petitioner and therefore completely irrelevant, more so that the 1st Petitioner is a Nigerian by birth within the contemplation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic ofNigeria, 1999 (as amended).

    “The averments in the aforesaid paragraphs are indeed fabricated, contrived, made in bad faith and designed to embarrass the 1st petitioner.”

    The APC had, in its response to the petition by Atiku and the PDP, argued that, by virtue of his not being a Nigerian by birth, Atiku was not qualified to have contested the last presidential election.

    It contended that by Section 131(a) of the Constitution, a person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth to be qualified to contest for the office of the President of the country. It noted that Atiku was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, now Adamawa State, then in Northern Cameroon, “and is therefore a citizen of Cameroon.”

    The APC said:  ”Atiku had no right to be voted for and returned in the election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on Saturday 23th February, 2019 having regard to the clear provision of Section 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 as amended, which unequivocally stipulates inter alia, that for a person to be qualified for election to the office of President, he must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth.”

    Atiku and the PDP, in their reply, also faulted the APC’s claim that the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) did not transmit the results of the election by electronic means, by using a server.

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  • Updated: I’m a Nigerian by birth, Atiku replies APC

    Former Vice President and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar has faulted claim by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he is not a Nigerian by birth and was not qualified to seek to occupy the office of the President.

    Atiku said he is a Nigerian by birth and was born on 25th November, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian parents and he is, therefore, a citizen of Nigeria by Birth.

    He said this in a joint reply he filed with the PDP in reaction to the response filed by the APC against their petition before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

    Atiku, who gave details his early life, also spoke about his working life and political career in Nigeria to support his claim that he is and has always been a Nigerian by birth.

    In the reply Atiku and the PDP argued that it was late in the day for the APC to query his qualification for the election, having not done so at the pre-election stage.

    Read also: I have always defeated Atiku, Buhari tells tribunal

    They said: “Contrary to the allegations contained in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the 3rd respondent’s (APC’s) reply, the petitioners state that the 1st petitioner (Atiku) is a citizen of Nigeria by birth and thus qualified to vote and be voted for and returned in the election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, held on Saturday 23rd February, 2019 going by the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “The 1st petitioner was born on 25th November, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian parents and he is, therefore, a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

    “The 1st petitioner’s father, Garba Atiku Abdulkadir was a Nigerian by Birth who hailed from Wumo in present-day Sokoto State while the mother, Aisha Kande was also a Nigerian who hailed from Dutse in present-day Jigawa State.

    “The parents of the 1st Petitioner are both Fulani, a community/tribe indigenous to Nigeria.

    “The birth of the 1st petitioner in Jada, in present-day Adamawa State of Nigeria was occasioned by the movement of his paternal grandfather called Atiku who was an itinerant trader, from Wumo in present-day Sokoto State to Jada in the company of his friend, Ardo Usman.

    “That in Jada, Atiku, the grandfather of the 1st petitioner gave birth to Garba who in tum gave birth to the 1st Petitioner and named him after his own father Atiku.

    “The 1st petitioner’s mother, Aisha Kande was the grand-daughter of Inuwa Dutse who came to Jada as an itinerant trader too from Dutse in present-day Jigawa State.

    “All averments concerning Germany, British Cameroons, League of Nations and Plebiscite are false and misleading in relation to the 1st Petitioner and therefore completely irrelevant more so that the 1st Petitioner is a Nigerian by birth within the contemplation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic ofNigeria, 1999 (as amended).

    “The averments in the aforesaid paragraphs are indeed fabricated, contrived, made in bad faith and designed to embarrass the 1st petitioner.”

    The APC had, in its response to the petition by Atiku and the PDP argued that, by virtue of his not being a Nigerian by birth, Atiku was not qualified to have contested the last presidential election.

    It contended that by Section 131(a) of the Constitution, a person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth to be qualified to contest for the office of the President of the country. It noted that Atiku was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, now Adamawa State, then in Northern Cameroon, “and is, therefore, a citizen of Cameroon.”

    The APC said Atiku “had no right to be voted for and returned in the election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on Saturday 23th February, 2019 having regard to the clear provision of Section 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 as amended, which unequivocally stipulates inter alia, that for a person to be qualified for election to the office of President, he must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth.”

    Atiku and the PDP, in their reply, also faulted the APC’s claim that the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) did not transmit the results of the election by electronic means, by using a server.

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  • I have always defeated Atiku, Buhari tells tribunal

    President Muhammadu Buhari has faulted claims by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that they won February 23 presidential election.

    Buhari describes the claims as laughable because Atiku has never won any political contest with him (Buhari) and because he is more popular and acceptable among the electorate than the ex-Vice President.

    Buhari, in his response to the petition filed before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja by Atiku and the PDP, challenging the outcome of the February 23, 2019 presidential election, noted that he even defeated Atiku in his (Atiku’s) polling unit in his home state of Adamawa.

    He wondered why Atiku thought he could secure victory on the platform of a political party (the PDP) he (Atiku) had previously derided and described as a dead party, and one which was beyond redemption.

    Read also: Atiku disarticulated

    The President, who is listed as the 2nd respondent   in the petition  marked: CA/PEPC/002/2019, said in his response filed on April 16, 2019 by his team of lawyers, led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN)  said: “At every previous instance, whether at intra-party or inter-party contests, where he and the 1st petitioner (Atiku) had vied, he has always been the preference of the electorate and/or delegates.

    “In particular, at the primary election conducted by the 3rd respondent (APC) in 2014, to pick its presidential candidate for the 2015 election, the 1st petitioner and the respondent (Buhari), amongst others, were the candidates; and while the respondent polled 3,430 votes, the 1st petitioner came a distant third with 954 votes.

    “The 1st petitioner was at all material times prior to his decamping to the 2nd petitioner (PDP), shortly before the presidential election, a member of the 3rd respondent (APC).

    “The 1st petitioner contested the presidential primary election of the 3rd respondent with the respondent in 2014 and after the respondent (Buhari) defeated him to a distant third place, the 1st petitioner joined the campaign train of the respondent immediately after the primary election, traversing all over the country and rightly declaring to all and sundry that respondent was the best choice available to the country for the position of President.

    “On joining the 3rd respondent, the 1st petitioner consigned the 2nd petitioner to the grave, describing it as a dead party that is beyond redemption.

    “The 1st petitioner could not have won the presidential election under the platform of a political, which he abandoned and described as having gone beyond redemption.

    “The respondent enjoys a wide acceptability across the federation and is more popular and acceptable to the electorate than the 1st petitioner, leading to the respondent securing more votes than the 1st petitioner, even at the latter’s polling unit in Adamawa State.

    “In the polling unit where the 1st petitioner registered for the election, while the 1st petitioner polled 167 votes, the respondent scored 186 votes.”

     

     

  • Atiku Abubakar and Nigerian citizenship

    THERE is an interesting discourse trending on Alhaj Atiku Abubakar’s Cameroonian nationality and his legal capacity to contest as the president of the federal republic not being a citizen of Nigeria.  Some of the views are as interesting as they are bizarre, especially those laced with legal pedantism.  Nigeria like many other African countries is product of the European conquest with arbitrary boundary demarcation without consideration of cultural and linguistic affinities of the indigenous communities.  Our boundaries and demography in most African countries remain fluid as homogeneous communities and languages are forcefully put at different sides of the borders by colonial conquest.

    Indeed, no national boundary the world over has an iron cast demarcation; they are fluid in demographic inter-mix of population and citizenship.  Our geographical boundaries are fairly well known but may not be properly defined with mathematical exactitude.  Notwithstanding, the identity of who a Nigerian citizen is should not be a subject of controversy.  Countries are gravitating towards unification and abolition of boundaries with integrated political economy.  Interestingly, Africa has since joined the league when it dropped the toga of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) for African Union (AU) aping and mimicking the European Union.  While our leaders parrot regional integration, free movement and same currency they are inciting xenophobic hatred and resentment against citizens of other nationalities and causing divisions at home; as we find in South Africa, Libya and lately Ghana to mention but a few.

    What is this whole argument about Atiku’s citizenship and eligibility to contest for the highest office in Nigeria about?  Why is it coming now?  I do not want to join the asinine definition and legalism of who a Nigerian citizen is in the context of whether some communities became part of Nigeria due to unregistered plebiscite that was conducted by the United Nations in 1961 or of grandparents being from communities indigenous to Nigeria.

    The argument of whose grandparents are members of communities indigenous to Nigeria is certainly going to throw up a debate where no one can qualify as a Nigerian citizen in the main. Anybody whose community is within the territorial jurisdiction of Nigeria by whatever means qualifies as a Nigerian citizen.  This is so because Nigeria itself as a country is an accident of history and product of historical design of British colonialism.   It may be a sweet legal argument eliciting rabble fireworks without patriotic fervour of nation building to want to strip another of citizenship on political partisanship.  We have travelled this road before when for political expediency, a citizen, Alhaji Shugaba Darma was forcefully deported during the Second Republic. The difference today is the fact that unlike in the 1980s, we do not have a judiciary that is populated with cerebral eggheads and philosophical jurists with limitless courage and appetite to speak truth to power.

    I do not know what chances the PDP presidential candidate in the just concluded election would be at the tribunal in terms of concrete and verifiable facts that would make the court decide in his favour. Argument of nationality or citizenship of Alhaji Atiku is not only offensive but repugnant to social justice equity and good conscience.  It is not a unifying legal argument to build a democracy and enhance the rule of law.  It is diversionary and should not be pursued on the altar of political expediency because the echo of it will be so deafening and will have a toxic effect on our unity as a nation.

    It is also offensive in the extreme to common sense and historical logic to say that someone who was born in a territory within Nigeria whatever the colonial boundaries and demarcations, is not qualified as a citizen to run for an election.  Atiku Abubakar worked in the public service of this country in a very sensitive appointment, retired into private life, have businesses across the length and breadth of Nigeria, was elected the governor of a Adamawa State and became the Vice President of Nigeria and yet someone finds its attractive to argue that he is not a citizen of Nigeria at this point; that is balderdash.

    If we are to hold this argument as correct, God forbid, I am afraid nobody in any community in present day Nigeria can lay claim to Nigerian citizenship and nationality.  The whole swathe of land in northern Nigeria from Katsina, Kano Sokoto and all the areas along the Sahel belt are immigrants from Mali and Senegal, all formerly of Songhai Empire.  The same is also true of the Esan man from Agenegbode in Edo State whose ancestors are either from Kano or Sokoto State; he cannot qualify as a Nigerian citizen.  I am also aware that the Igbo from the Southeast lay claim to Israel as their root which they have tried to find the historical link and ancestry.   Some communities in the in the middle belt oral tradition has it that their progenitors and ancestral root are from the Congo River and the Great Lakes Region.

    We should perish the citizenship argument and distraction of the political elite and wrestler power from the locust that have laid waste our land.    The legal team of the ruling party and indeed the leadership of the party should be a little bit reflective and display some measure of civility in the use and exercise of power and the employment of the coercive apparatus of the state for political ends. The last general elections could past as the worst election in Nigeria in all ramifications.  Electoral violence and ballot heist were elevated to a state craft and the security forces became discredited as a result of its direct involvement in the manipulation of electoral fraud.  We cannot afford to be championing regional integration and be expelling citizens in the name of not belonging to an indigenous community to Nigeria.  If there is litigation on the credibility of the last election, it should be fought on the basis of verifiable facts before the tribunal not on the inane and barren argument of citizenship.

     

    • Kebonkwu is an Abuja-based attorney.

  • Atiku: a new Nigeria is being birthed

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said a new Nigeria is being birthed.

    He urged the nation to remember the sacrifices of the Armed Forces in the fight against insecurity across the land.

    In his Easter message to Christians, Atiku said: “Easter is a time of resurrection, of dying to what was imperfect and reawakening to what is perfect. This is the message of hope which this season is all about.

    “Nigeria is going through difficult times. But Easter gives us hope that, as a nation, we will die to challenges and live to our potentials. We will die to extreme poverty and live to extra and prosperity. We will die to strife and be united in life.

    Read also: Atiku Abubakar and Nigerian citizenship

    “Even as we celebrate, I urge all Nigerians to remember the men and women of our Armed Forces, who are even right now in ditches and trenches to keep us safe. Let us also spare a thought to those who have suffered at the hands of terrorists, marauders and criminals. A new Nigeria is being birthed; a Nigeria of possibilities instead of impossibilities.

    “Suffice to say that Jesus Christ (Nabi Isa) is a compassionate friend to all who are weary and heavy laden, and as we celebrate His resurrection, let us also remember the less privileged in our midst.

    “Let us also thank God for the fact that we remain as one nation under God. Where there is unity, there is much hope. Much hope indeed.

    “It is with this in mind that I wish the body of Christ and all Nigerians a happy Easter. May God bless us all and may God bless Nigeria.”

     

  • I got my figures from your server, Atiku tells INEC

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has defended his claim that he got the results of the February 23 presidential election as tendered in his petition from the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Atiku was responding to INEC’s reply to the PDP candidate petition to the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), in which he claimed the poll’s figures he submitted with his petition were authentic.

    rRead also: Buhari challenges Atiku to present his credentials

    The electoral umpire declared incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the Akll Progressives Congress (INEC) as the winner of the February 23 election, having polled 15,191,847 votes Atiku’s 11,262,978.

    In his 139-page petition before the PEPT, Atiku stated that from the data in INEC’s server, the true, actual and correct results showed that he (Atiku) secured a total of 18,356,732 votes to against Buhari’s 16,741,430 votes.

    The PDP presidential candidate stated that the results were from 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as there was “no report on server” about the election results from Rivers State.

  • UPDATED: I’m far more qualified than Atiku, Buhari tells tribunal

    President Muhammadu Buhari has responded to allegations contained in the petition by Atiku Abubakar and his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before the presidential election tribunal.

    Buhari, in a response filed on April 16 by a team of lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), put a lie to the claim by Atiku and the PDP that he was not qualified to stand for election to the office of the President.

    The President said he was far more qualified than Atiku and challenged Atiku to produce his academic credentials before the tribunal.

    He argued that it was Atiku Abubakar who was not qualified to contest for the office he is seeking occupy.

    Buhari said he did not, “at any time, provide any false information in Form CF00] submitted to the lSt respondent, either in 2014 or 2018.

    “The affidavit of compliance to the 2019 Form CF001 was correct in every material particular.

    Read also: Senate passes seven bills rejected by Buhari

    “In filling Form CF001 in 2014 and 2019, respondent was not oblivious of the constitutional qualifications stipulated in Section 131 of the Constitution and interpreted in Section 318 of the same Constitution.

    “Petitioners themselves are also not oblivious of the fact that respondent possesses far more than the constitutional threshold expected for a candidate contesting for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The respondent avers that he is far more qualified, both constitutionally and educationally, to contest and occupy the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria than the 1st petitioner (Atiku); and that in terms of educational qualifications, trainings and courses attended, both within and outside Nigeria, he is head and shoulder above the 1st petitioner in terms of acquisition of knowledge, certificates, laurels, medals, and experience.

    “Respondent states further that it is the 1st petitioner, who is not qualified to contest the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and challenges the educational credentials and certificates of the 1st petitioner.

    “1st petitioner is hereby given notice to produce and tender his educational certificates, indicating the schools attended by him, with dates.”

    The President gave his educational resume as: “Elementary School, Daura and Maid’adua (1948 – 1952), Middle School, Katsina (1953-1956, Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina (1956-1961).”

    Buhari faulted the entire petition filed by the PDP and Atiku, noting that they are more about pre-election issues, which the Court of Appeal, sitting as a tribunal lacked jurisdiction.

    He also argued that the petitioners told lies against themselves in the petition and made conflicting claims which the tribunal cannot grant.

    For instance, Buhari noted that while the petitioners claimed to have won the last presidential election and also won elections in many states in the south-south and south-eastern part of the country, they also urged the court to nullify the election and order a fresh presidential election.

    Burari argued that by virtue of Section of 137of the Electoral Act, petitioners cannot question the results of elections in states where they claim to have won and still retain themselves as petitioners.

    Buhari faulted the petitioners’ claim that the election was marred by corrupt practices and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

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