The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said the late Human Rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, inspired him to make inquiries about the certificate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku commended Fawehinmi for instituting a case against Tinubu and drawing public attention to the certificate controversy 23 years ago.
The former Vice President also commended popular Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, for the revelation of Tinubu’s certificates obtained from South West College and Chicago State University (CSU).
Atiku said it should not have taken weeks or months for security agencies to verify the certificate of candidates who present themselves for higher office.
He said: “I wish to pay tribute to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who inspired us on this path of discovery. Now, he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition.
Gani’s vindication today gives credence to the saying that no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.
Former American President Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.’ From exposing the Watergate scandal and unravelling the dubious certificates of politicians, journalists have maintained eternal vigilance by bridging the gap and stepping in when other arms of government failed.
It is for these reasons that commendation must be given to David Hundeyin, an independent journalist whose extraordinary work and those of many more young people like him has become a source of inspiration.
Special thanks must be given to the millions of Nigerian youths and citizen journalists too who continue to put out the truth online even when no one is listening. Indeed, the price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance. They have put the country first in their firm commitment to unravel the truth and hold leaders accountable. This gives me the hope that we have worthy partners in the struggle to reclaim the country we call home.”
Recall that Atiku had filed a suit against President Tinubu over his academic record at the Chicago State University.
He requested the documents to back his allegation of forgery of CSU certificate against Tinubu.
The allegation of forgery was one of those dismissed by the presidential election court in the suit Atiku filed to challenge the election of Tinubu.
Despite the court’s ruling, Atiku continued his case at the US court, hoping to get official documents to back his claim and possibly include them in his appeal at the Supreme Court.
He had argued that there were discrepancies in the certificate Tinubu submitted to the INEC which should have rendered him ineligible to contest the election.
