Tinubu’s Certificate Drama: Atiku To Address World Press Conference Today, Says Dele Momodu

 

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will address a world press conference today (Thursday).

 

Dele Momodu, who was the director of strategic communications of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council in the 2023 election, disclosed this on Wednesday night on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

 

Momodu did not disclose what Atiku, the candidate of the PDP in the 2023 presidential election, wanted to tell the world in the press conference but it is believed that the focus would be on President Bola Tinubu’s alleged forgery of his school certificate.

 

Momodu tweeted, “BREAKING: HE Atiku Abubakar will host an international press conference tomorrow, 5th Oct 2023.

 

“It will be streamed on his social media platforms and be covered live by the both International and Local Media Networks.”

 

The Chicago State University (CSU) on Monday released at least 32 documents relating to the academic records of President Tinubu and other students of the institution to Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar’s lawyers as ordered by a United States court.

 

The academic records obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday include certificates of a number of other students as requested by Atiku so that the lawyers could fish out alleged discrepancies.

 

The university released the documents to Atiku on Monday in compliance with the order of a US District Court in Northern District of Illinois.

 

President Tinubu had lost his emergency appeal to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to stop Chicago State University from releasing his academic records to Atiku.

 

In her ruling on Tinubu’s emergency application in case No. 23 CV 05099, Judge Nancy L. Maldonado overruled “President Tinubu's objections to Magistrate Judge Gilbert's recommended ruling, and therefore adopts the ruling in full”.

 

SaharaReporters reported on September 23 that Tinubu appealed against the ruling of Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert, sitting at the United States’ District Court of Northern Illinois which ordered the university to release all relevant records pertaining to him to Atiku.

 

SaharaReporters had reported that Atiku Abubakar’s lawyers were studying the documents obtained from the university and could make them public later in the day.

 

In response to Abubakar’s third request — which was to release a copy of the diplomas issued in 1997 — the university said the certificates match the format of the Tinubu replacement dated June 27, 1997.

 

Several samples of diplomas (certificates) awarded in 1979 to other students were released by the university as demanded by Abubakar.

Tinubu had previously claimed to have lost his original certificates but presented a replacement for his CSU diploma to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 presidential election.

 

Atiku intends to use the CSU academic record in pursuit of his appeal at the Supreme Court where he is challenging Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential election.

 

But Tinubu’s legal team has argued that the documents would be of no use at the Supreme Court.

 

Meanwhile, the university said on Monday that it did not have the certificate President Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prior to the 2023 general elections in its possession.

 

Caleb Westberg, the university registrar and deponent/witness, said this while giving an oral deposition.

 

Speaking on the diploma certificate, Westberg said he could not comment on it the one submitted to INEC because he did not see it.

 

“The university only has diplomas that students didn’t pick up in its possession. The university does not typically keep diplomas. I do not have the diploma that was submitted to INEC in our possession,” he said.

 

Regarding why Tinubu did not pick up his replacement diploma from the school, the witness said, “The university does not typically keep diplomas. I have the diploma that was made available to Mr Enahoro-Ebah in our possession because Mr Tinubu did not pick it up.

 

“I do not have the diploma that was submitted to INEC in our possession because he had picked it up.”