Former Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar, on Thursday, said he never betrayed President Bola Tinubu, during
their political alignment in 2007.
He said rather than betray the
President, he stood up to his then-principal, President Olusegun Obasanjo, and
ensured that Lagos State did not fall to the political tsunami of 2003.
Atiku, who was the Peoples
Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election,
stated this during a press briefing in Abuja.
“Those of you who are old enough
will also remember that in 2003, the PDP took over all the South-Western
states, with the exception of Lagos.
“I stood between Obasanjo and
himself (Tinubu) and I said no, you (Obasanjo) can’t take over Lagos. Leave it
and he (Obasanjo) left it. So, who is indebted to whom? Is it me or Bola Ahmed
Tinubu? I vehemently deny that I stabbed Tinubu in the back.
“There are other things which I
will not want to go into,” the former Vice President said.
Atiku, who was responding to a
question from a journalist on a claim by a presidential spokesman that he
betrayed Tinubu by requesting the President’s academic records from the Chicago
State University, said he had Tinubu parted ways politically after the former
Lagos State governor wanted to be his running mate in 2007.
He said, “I beg to disagree (on
betrayal allegation) with Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Yes, it is true that in 2007 we
came together to form an alliance in Lagos, and at the convention, I contested
and got the ticket. After I got the ticket, he sent about 5 or 6 seniors – some
of them are here – I can even name them but I don’t want to embarrass them.
“They met me and said to me that
Bola wanted to be my running mate. I said to them, gentlemen, you’re all old
enough, and apparently, virtually all of you are Christians’ with the exception
of one person. What will be your reaction to having a Muslim-Muslim ticket?
“All of them said we totally
objected to it and I said why didn’t you tell him when he was giving you the
message that look Mr Tinubu, the message you’re sending us, we don’t seem to
agree with you on it (Muslim-Muslim ticket). Why are you coming then to me? And
that was the end of our political relationship. We broke away, so what is the
ground for him to say that I betrayed him?
“Till today, I won’t do a Muslim-Muslim
ticket; I don’t have to be president; we are a multi-ethnic and multi-religious
people, and our government must reflect our diversity, and our composition must
reflect the same.”
The PUNCH reports that the
university released the academic records of the President on Monday and the CSU
Registrar, Carl Westberg, also carried out a deposition of the documents on
Tuesday, in compliance with the ruling of Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert.
Gilbert had on September 19
granted Atiku’s request for the release of Tinubu’s academic records but the
President filed a review of the order.
Tinubu’s lawyers insisted that
the documents would not be relevant in Atiku’s appeal against Tinubu at the
Supreme Court and asked for a review of the ruling.
However, federal judge Nancy
Maldonado overruled Tinubu’s objections and ordered the CSU to release the
President’s academic records.
In the CSU documents, the
institution responded to Atiku’s four requests and affirmed that Tinubu
attended the CSU.
Meanwhile, the Presidency on
Wednesday insisted that the academic records released by the varsity had
vindicated the President and confirmed him as an alumnus of the school.
The Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Media and Public Affairs, Temitope Ajayi, also submitted that
the CSU never said the certificate presented to the Independent National
Electoral Commission before the presidential election by Tinubu was forged in
its deposition.
Having obtained Tinubu’s academic
records on the order of an Illinois, Chicago court, Atiku would on Thursday
(today) file his application at the Supreme Court.
Atiku, who contested against
Tinubu in the February presidential election on the platform of the Peoples
Democratic Party, is expected to file the documents he obtained from the CSU in
furtherance of his election appeal at the Supreme Court.
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