Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar declared that the the reputation of Nigeria and its citizens are not at stake, following the deposition of the Registrar of Chicago State University (CSU) in a US court on the certificate presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Bola Tinubu, which suggested that it did not originate from the institution.
Atiku stated at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday that his struggle over the election outcome is not about him, but about the future of the country.
He said that people look up to politicians to respect and protect the nation’s rules, and that it should not take decades to affirm something as simple as a certificate.
Atiku during the press conference said “Gentlemen of the Press, Fellow Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I consider it important to address and report to you today on issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country.
“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. 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.
“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. 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 re-dedicate 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.”
