- Says Atiku’s case an exercise in futility, President has nothing to hide
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday ridiculed the efforts of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to obtain the academic records of President Bola Tinubu from Chicago State University (CSU), United States (U.S.), describing it as ‘’an expedition in futility.’’
The ruling party said it had nothing to fear as the President had always boasted that he had nothing to hide.
This came as Judge Jeffrey Gilbert of the US District Court for Northern District of Illinois, ordered Tinubu’s alma mater to provide all relevant and non-privileged documents to the applicant, Atiku, within two days.
Documents sought by Atiku, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include the record of admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards and honours attained by Tinubu at the university, among others.
In spite of the development, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Duro Meseko, said the ruling party was not bothered by the court order, stressing that the President had nothing to hide.
According to Meseko: “The President has always said over and again that he has nothing to hide. His records are there for all to see. Chicago University has also written severally to say that this man is from us. Nothing has changed. There is no cause for alarm. It is an expedition in futility.”
In its reaction, the Presidency submitted that Tinubu’s academic record would be of no value to the PDP Presidential candidate, noting that Atiku and his party were simply chasing shadows.
A presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, premised this on the grounds that Atiku who emerged first-runner up in the Presidential election cannot present new evidence in court other than those he presented before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which ruled in Tinubu’s favour on September 6.
The official said, “After getting the President’s records, how will that help Atiku’s case? The university has not recanted its often-stated position that President Tinubu graduated in 1979 from the school.
“Atiku and PDP are chasing shadows. The President’s academic records have no probable value to Atiku’s case in court. At Supreme Court, you can’t plead new evidence outside what you frontloaded at the court of first instance which is the Appeal Court that has decided on the Presidential election petition.’’
With additional reports from The PUNCH
Atiku had approached the US court for an order compelling the CSU to release Tinubu’s academic records.
He alleged that Tinubu’s academic records were forged.
Tinubu’s credentials indicated that he graduated from CSU in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting and Management, but there have been allegations bordering on discrepancies with his certificate.