“The All Progressives Congress (APC) is unfazed by the press conference addressed by former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, earlier today. The press conference lacked purpose and delivered nothing except the pitiful regurgitation of lies, mindless distortions and deliberate falsehood on his infantile obsession with the academic record of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
By Emma Ogbuehi
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday, dismissed the ‘allegations’ of the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic records as lacking purpose.
The party described Atiku’s comments at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday as nothing but pitiful regurgitation of lies, mindless distortions and deliberate falsehood on his infantile obsession with the academic record of Tinubu.
Reacting to Atiku’s comments, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement in Abuja, said the former Vice President has again beaten his “tattered drum of shame.”
The ruling party noted that Atiku’s action was a display of deep rooted animosity towards Tinubu, whom he believed was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Berating Atiku’s alleged desperation, the governing party claimed that the former Vice President’s action was unbecoming of a statesman who once occupied the second highest office in the land.
APC observed that with the action of the PDP flag bearer, he “has thrown every decency, decorum, dignity and national respectability out the window on his purposeless judicial voyage of discovery to the United States in search of a magic wand for taking power against the will of the Nigerian electorate loudly expressed in last February’s presidential election.”
The statement reads: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) is unfazed by the press conference addressed by former Vice President and Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar earlier today. The press conference lacked purpose and delivered nothing except the pitiful regurgitation of lies, mindless distortions and deliberate falsehood on his infantile obsession with the academic record of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“For several weeks now, Nigerians and the world have watched with incredulity Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s display of utter desperation in his failed bid to become the President of Nigeria.
“We believe Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should have known better than to demonstrate gross contempt of the highest court by making public comments on a matter that he has submitted to the court for adjudication.
“The major takeaway from his Yar’Adua Centre show, especially at question time, was that Atiku harbours deep animosity towards Tinubu whom he believes was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year.
“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar holds the unenviable title of Nigeria’s most prolific election loser and longest running presidential candidate in history, and we see his recent US fishing expedition as the last kick of a roundly rejected presidential aspirant.
“While we sympathise with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for spending a lifetime pursuing unrealised dream, we strongly condemn the perfidious road he has taken and the needless negative exposure of Nigeria and the institution of the Presidency in foreign land.”
Commenting on the deposition of Westberg, the Registrar of Chicago State University, last Tuesday, the ruling party claimed that the registrar maintained that Tinubu unmistakenly and unambiguously graduated with honours from Chicago State University.
“He also emphatically provided clear answers on all other issues raised which we can sum as follows:
“That the person who is Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the same person who attended Chicago State University.
“He confirmed that a certain gentleman called Adeniji who had come forward to say he was Tinubu’s classmate was in fact a student at CSU at the same time and they both ran for student union positions.
“Mr. Westberg said the diploma certificate, on which the PDP and Atiku seek to gaslight Nigerians and the whole world, is just a ceremonial document and what proved studentship at Chicago State University and in any American university is transcript, not certificate.
“Furthermore, he stated that the ‘F’ on the Southwest college certificate, a feeder institution to CSU, which President Bola Tinubu used to gain admission into CSU was a clerical error which could of course happen. He reiterated that Southwest College was a major feeder source for CSU.
“He said the person admitted based on the transcript from South West College, was a male Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Westberg also added the courses taken by President Bola Tinubu at Southwest College were consistent with the courses he took at CSU.
“Westberg further deposed that Accounting is a rigorous field of study. Anyone who did not take the requisite courses at the lower levels could not have done well at CSU.
“In President Tinubu’s case, he did excellently well at CSU. He graduated with High Honours. That to him point to the fact that the person who attended and graduated from CSU was the same person who went to Southwest College
“He pointed out that CSU has had at least six Registrars since 1979 and in an affidavit at an Illinois court prior to the deposition said “Chicago State University provided a diploma to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and subsequently provided a certified (or official) copy of that diploma. Both are valid and authentic diplomas of Chicago State University”.
“He said further that the difference in the date of award on the diploma versus the certified copy is likely the result of human error. The graduation date on the certified copy is typed in manually by a person and can be inaccurate”.
“Mr. Westberg noted that by practice, CSU does not replace certificates for students as they are issued by 3rd party vendors which is also a common practice by other US universities. The proof of attendance and graduation remains the transcripts.
“There is also no part of Mr. Westberg’s deposition where he said that the certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to INEC for his election is fake or was forged. All the insinuations and innuendos in this regard are pure mischief and should be disregarded. President Tinubu could not have forged a University degree he honourably earned because there is no advantage to derive from such and no incentive to do so.”
The party further lampooned Atiku for allegedly deceiving the court, lying that he needed to use his findings to pursue his appeal at the Supreme Court only to resort to using the same as an instrument of mischief and blackmail in clear contempt of the highest court of the land.
APC then urged the former Vice President to accept his defeat and quietly lick his political wound with some dignity.
“Nigerians rejected him at the polls, and he cannot get by subterfuge what he failed to get through the ballot box.
“Nigerians validly elected President Tinubu to revamp our economy, restore security, create jobs, provide transformative infrastructure, improve electricity supply and enhance the living conditions of the masses.
“President Tinubu has undertaken to serve Nigerians and he will not be distracted by a man who has consistently failed to achieve his self-serving and brutal quest to become Nigeria’s President,” the statement concluded.
