The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has filed a separate case No. 23-5099 (N. D. III.) at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against President Bola Tinubu in the United States.
Tinubu said he holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the Chicago State University.
In January 2023, Beverly Poindexter, the staff in charge of transcript requests, enrolment and degree verification, confirmed that the president attended the university between 1977 and 1979.
However, Atiku has maintained that the president’s academic records were forged.
Recently, Atiku filed a suit seeking to subpoena the university to produce Tinubu’s academic records. He later withdraw the suit and it was consequently dismissed by the US court.
In a new development on Sunday, August 6, 2023, Special Assistant on Public Communications to Atiku, Phrank Shaibu, in reaction to enquiries about the dismissed suit by the Circuit Court of Cook County, said another suit has been filed.
Shaibu said, “Waziri Atiku Abubakar only withdrew the case before a Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County, United States of America, because he is pursuing the same matter in a higher court and he wanted to avoid an abuse of court processes. So, this is just the beginning.”
He said it was funny that Tinubu and his supporters were rejoicing over the development as if it were a Supreme Court judgement. He added that Tinubu’s academic records from primary school till university remained questionable, hence, the president’s failure to identify a single former classmate.
Shaibu stated, “In the last one week, Nigerians have been watching the ongoing ministerial screening at the senate, where nominees have been made to reveal their primary, secondary and university history. Some of the ministerial nominees were even classmates with the senators screening them.
“However, the man who nominated them has no educational history. He has no primary school, secondary school or university classmates. This is because he has no classmates. He actually fell from the sky.
“In recent years past, presidents have invited their former classmates to Aso Rock Villa. Even President Muhammadu Buhari hosted his classmates from Katsina Middle School. But who did Bola Tinubu invite to the Presidential Villa? Governors from 1999 set. This is a man whose entire life, background and credentials remain unknown and Atiku will ensure that the man is exposed.
“It is expected that the person to hold the Office of the President must be above board, especially, on his life history. Unfortunately, here we have a president whose history is shrouded in secrecy and for whom it is a tough life that started in 1993.”
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Shaibu maintained, “Even the year 1993, which presents the opening chapter of the recorded history of our president, is renowned for a documented indictment on narcotics trading. Now, this is 2023, Atiku is asking to open the shady history of our president and the same man is standing in the way of the truth about his past.
“That very obstruction to the innocent effort to unravel the president’s past means that the man has something to hide. It is shameful that the president’s supporters are joyful that their man is covering up his own past.
“But, like the saying goes, falsehood may run for a lifetime, the truth shall overrun it in an instant. The moment of truth is here and President Tinubu has no hiding place.”
Meanwhile, the county court in Illinois had dismissed the suit filed by Atiku, seeking release of the academic records of Tinubu at the Chicago State University.
It was learnt that the dismissal was sequel to a formal withdrawal of the suit by Atiku.
According to a report by the Gatekeepers News reports, Judge Patrick J. Heneghan had on July 31, “dismissed the case without prejudice.”
