Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said President-elect, Bola Tinubu, does not have what it takes to contest for the office of President.
Atiku stated that unlike Tinubu, whose background is shrouded in secrecy and also dogged by plethora of scandals, his life is an open book and nothing about him has been subject of controversy.
Atiku was replying to Tinubu’s preliminary objection to his petition challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election before the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal.
Tinubu had in the reply asked the tribunal to dismiss Atiku’s petition, contending that he had no right whatsoever to be returned as a winner of the election having lost successive presidential elections in Nigeria since 1993.
“Further to (iv) supra, it was/is not a surprise and/or not by accident that the electorate rejected the 1st petitioner (Atiku) at the polls of the presidential election held on 25th February, 2023,” Tinubu averred.
In the response filed by his lead counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), Atiku maintained that unlike Tinubu, his true identity, age, state of origin and educational qualifications have never been in dispute.
He insisted that the declaration of Tinubu as President-elect cannot stand because he holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and Guinea, “having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the Republic of Guinea”.
Similarly, Atiku accused Tinubu of not disclosing facts of his constitutional qualifications in his Form EC9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), contrary to the provisions of the law.
Atiku alleged that Tinubu is unfit to lead Nigeria having been indicted for drug related offences in the United States of America and made to forfeit a sum of $460,000 as a compromise agreement.
Justifying his request for the annulment of the declaration of Tinubu as President-elect, Atiku said Tinubu and APC never won majority of the lawful votes cast in the election, adding that he failed to meet the constitutional requirement of securing 25% of the votes cast in the FCT.
Atiku countered Tinubu’s submission that the PDP is in abuse of court process by maintaining two processes in respect of the February 25 election, following a suit of February 28 by six PDP governors of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto states challenging the failure of INEC to transmit the results of the elections through the BVAS and IREV as leaving the substance to dwell on extraneous facts, contradictory, evasive, speculative and vague issues.
He said the six states’ suit, which has been discontinued, and his petition are not the same