A West African Examinations Council (WAEC) certificate purportedly submitted by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 general elections has surfaced online.
The certificate bearing Siddiq Abubakar has generated controversies among Nigerians, some of whom have accused Mr Atiku of fraud.
The accusations are coming weeks after Mr Atiku took delivery of the academic records of President Bola Tinubu, where he allegedly found out that the certificate Mr Tinubu presented to INEC, during the build-up to the Presidential election was not the same as the one the Chicago State University issued in 1979 – the year Mr Tinubu graduated.
Reacting, Mr Atiku said he used the name “Siddiq” when he wrote his WAEC, adding that he later swore an affidavit to declare that “Abubakar Sadiq” and “Atiku Abubakar” are the same person.
“Yes I used Sadiq Abubakar to sit for my WAEC and after passing my exams I went to swear an affidavit to say I am the same person as ATIKU Abubakar,” Momodu quoted him as saying.
“I went to ABU as Atiku Abubakar and passed my Exams as Atiku Abubakar. Interviewed as Atiku Abubakar by the Federal Civil Service Commission and hired into the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar. So where is forgery there?”
The development comes amid a certificate forgery allegation against President Bola Tinubu.
Abubakar is challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 poll and the judgment of the tribunal that upheld the president’s victory on September 6.
The PDP candidate has consistently alleged that Tinubu’s educational records are fraught with discrepancies and forgeries.
His request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records has since been granted.
Abubakar has applied to the Supreme Court to file fresh evidence from his discovery of the president’s academic records against him.
-THE PRECISION
