By Daniel Edu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly criticized Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, for his pursuit of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University. The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, characterized Atiku and the PDP’s actions as symptoms of a “post-election defeat disorder,” asserting that Nigerians had rejected the opposition party due to years of mismanagement. Ibrahim advised the former vice president to retire from politics.
Meanwhile, the United States’ District Court for Northern Illinois has reportedly received President Bola Tinubu’s certificates, complying with a court order issued by Justice Nancy Maldonado. The court continued to receive deposition on Tinubu’s certificates as of Tuesday evening, Nigerian time. This followed the release of the documents by Chicago State University (CSU) in compliance with the court’s ruling.
Chicago State University released the President’s academic records in response to Atiku’s requests. Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert granted Atiku’s request for the release of Tinubu’s academic records on September 19, but the President contested the order. Tinubu’s lawyers argued that the documents were not relevant to Atiku’s appeal against him at the Supreme Court.
However, Justice Nancy Maldonado overruled Tinubu’s objections and ordered CSU to release the President’s academic records. The documents, which were widely circulated on Monday night, responded to Atiku’s requests in detail.
The APC Coordinator of the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, Babatunde Ogala, SAN, did not provide comments, but the APC’s publicity director criticized Atiku for his bitterness over the election loss. He described the PDP and Atiku as suffering from a “defeat disorder syndrome” and suggested that they seek psychiatric assessment.
Ibrahim further noted that Nigerians had voted out the PDP and advised Atiku to accept defeat and retire from public life.
In response, the PDP argued that Tinubu’s academic records, as released by CSU, vindicated their position. They claimed that the CSU records indicated that the President presented conflicting documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, announced their intention to present these documents to the Supreme Court to support their case against Tinubu.
Abdullahi declared that “the game is up” and called on Tinubu and the APC to apologize to Nigerians and hand over the reins of power.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, and Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, mocked Atiku, characterizing his efforts as futile and driven by bitterness over his electoral loss. Keyamo urged Atiku to apologize to President Tinubu and Nigerians.
Ajayi criticized Atiku’s treatment of President Tinubu, highlighting the support President Tinubu had provided to Atiku in the past.
Legal experts questioned the relevance of the CSU documents to Atiku’s appeal at the Supreme Court. Some argued that Atiku’s petition did not challenge Tinubu’s educational qualifications, making the pursuit of these documents unnecessary and a waste of resources.
In conclusion, this news report discusses the ongoing controversy surrounding the release of President Tinubu’s academic records by Chicago State University, with the APC criticizing Atiku’s pursuit of the records, and the PDP asserting that the documents support their case against Tinubu. Legal experts and government officials have weighed in on the matter, with varying opinions on its relevance to the Supreme Court appeal.
