Alhaji Atiku Abubakar says his quest for President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University is for the enthronement of truth and morality.
Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2023 presidential election, lost the race to Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
He told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday that he would continue to challenge Tinubu’s election and qualification to contest until the Supreme Court gives its verdict on the matter.
“This quest is not for or about Abubakar. It is a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in our public affairs.
“In line with this, I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, religious, political, traditional and community leaders to join me in this campaign.
“It is to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in our country and in our government.
“I am calling particularly on former Governors Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and leaders of every political party in Nigeria to join me.
“Indeed, I call on every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, as I do, to join me.
“This is a task for each and every one of us,” Abubakar said.
He said his generation of politicians worked hard to return democracy to Nigeria.
He added that political leadership and active citizenship mattered because they were ways through which citizens worked together to build a country that worked for all who lived in it.
Abubakar noted that Nigeria’s elections were established and governed by law and founded on the Constitution from which leadership and government derived 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,’’ he said.
Abubakar also told newsmen that his current campaign was at a cost.
“We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons.
“The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld; the reputation of our country is at stake.
“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 to our Constitution,’’ Abubakar said.
He commended lawyers in Nigeria and in the United States of America that assisted him to bring definitive answers to issues that appeared to “have defied Nigeria’s institutions for nearly a quarter of a century’’.
He also extended his gratitude to journalists, Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for their patience as he sought to find the facts and establish the truth.
Fielding questions after his address, Abubakar refuted claims that he betrayed President Tinubu politically.
He said his political relationship with Tinubu ended in 2007.
Abubakar explained that this was after he rejected moves to make Tinubu his running mate as presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
He explained further that he rejected the choice of Tinubu because he never believed in one religion ticket.
“Where is the ground for him to say I betrayed him?
“Those of you who are old enough will remember that in 2003, the PDP took over all the states in the Southwest, with the exemption of Lagos State where Tinubu was governor.
“I stood before the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and said `no, you can’t take Lagos State and he left it.
“So, who is indebted to the other; is it me or Tinubu’’? Abubakar queried.
He said that after the 2023 presidential election, a group of governors visited to placate him but he refused to give them audience.