morganable politics/elections
Atiku and the ADC are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu should be disqualified from contesting the 2027 presidential election over the allegation that he submitted a forged NYSC certificate in connection with his presidential candidacy
KaNo —
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has dragged President Bola Tinubu before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking his disqualification from the 2027 presidential election over an alleged forged National Youth Service Corps certificate.
The legal action came alongside a separate petition submitted to the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, by a legal counsel and chieftain of the ADC, Kalu Agu, over allegations that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The two developments occurred on Friday, with Atiku personally appearing at the Federal High Court registry in Abuja to depose to an affidavit in support of the suit filed against Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and INEC.
The suit invokes Sections 137(1)(j), 139(1)(a)(i) and 285(14)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
At the centre of the case is Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution, which provides that a person shall not be qualified for election as President if he has presented a forged certificate to INEC.
Atiku Demands Legality Of Tinubu’s Contest
Atiku and the ADC are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu should be disqualified from contesting the 2027 presidential election over the allegation that he submitted a forged NYSC certificate in connection with his presidential candidacy.
The former vice president further alleged that the certificate was not obtained by Tinubu and that the disputed document was submitted in connection with the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku is also asking the court to compel INEC to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted in connection with the 2023 and 2027 presidential elections.
He said he had previously sought Certified True Copies of the relevant documents from INEC but had not received them before commencing the legal action.
Explaining his decision to personally appear at the court registry, Atiku said the matter was too important to be handled casually.
“I came here personally because the issues before the court go to the heart of our Constitution and the integrity of the office of President,” he said.
“I have therefore put my name, my signature and my oath behind the facts we are presenting to the court. Now it is President Tinubu’s turn to answer them.”
“We are not asking Nigerians to decide this matter on social media, and we are not asking INEC to become a court.
“We are asking the institution holding the records to produce them and the judiciary to examine the evidence and pronounce on it,” he said.
The ADC presidential candidate also questioned whether the names appearing on the disputed certificate could legitimately be attributed to Tinubu.
Among the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs is an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from participating in the 2027 presidential election if the allegations against them are established.
Atiku argued that questions concerning the authenticity of certificates submitted to electoral authorities should be subjected to the same constitutional standard applicable to every Nigerian.
“The presidency is not an immunity certificate against constitutional scrutiny,” he said.
Atiku Urges INEC To Demonstrate Neutrality
He also called on INEC to demonstrate its neutrality by producing the relevant electoral records.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Edwin Inegedu, SAN, and Joseph Onu Silas, expressed confidence in the case.
However, the APC dismissed the suit as an exercise in futility and urged Atiku to prepare for the 2027 election rather than seek what it described as a shortcut to power.
Speaking with the Punch, the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, said Tinubu remained qualified to contest the election.
“Atiku should go and brace for another defeat in the general election. The President is qualified to contest the election; there is nothing disqualifying him, and the matter has been settled by the Supreme Court,” Basiru said.
“Atiku has nothing to offer Nigerians, and he knows that he will be rejected at the poll. That is why he is looking for a shortcut. But there’s no shortcut to power. He should go and mobilise for the poll, where he will be rejected by Nigerians as usual. That will end his political misadventure into the presidency,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, Agu submitted a petition to the European Commission, asking the European Union to intervene over what he described as an alleged subversion of constitutional order in Nigeria.
Agu was captured in a video shared on X on Friday by Paul Ibe, Atiku’s media aide, while submitting the petition.
In the petition, Agu alleged that Tinubu presented false academic credentials to INEC as part of the constitutional requirements for the 2027 presidential election.
He also alleged that the President failed to disclose the primary and secondary schools he attended in documents submitted to INEC.
Agu argued that the alleged submission of forged certificates contravened Section 137(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution.
“This is in flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly Section 137(1)(j), which says that if you have presented a forged certificate to INEC, you will not be qualified to run for election,” he said.
“He has submitted forged certificates to INEC, making him unqualified to run in the 2027 general election.”
The petition represents a further international dimension to the political and legal controversy surrounding Tinubu’s eligibility for the 2027 presidential election.
Presidency Dismiss Petition
However, the Presidency dismissed the EU petition as another attempt by the opposition to distract Nigerians from the performance of the Tinubu administration.
The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, described the action as a distraction in a post on X on Friday.
“The opposition is on a wild goose chase in Europe. They would do everything possible to distract and avoid answering the very one question: What would you do differently from this government?” Bwala wrote.
The legal challenge is now expected to test the interpretation of constitutional provisions governing presidential eligibility and the consequences of submitting allegedly forged documents to INEC.
While Atiku’s camp insists that the matter should be determined strictly on the basis of documentary evidence and constitutional provisions, the APC maintains that Tinubu is qualified to contest and has already been cleared by the courts.
