Tinubu's certificate saga: Atiku desperately wants to be Nigerian president, says VON DG

The Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has strongly criticized the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, for his unwavering pursuit of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University (CSU). Okechukwu contends that Atiku’s motives are primarily driven by his intense desire to become Nigeria’s president.

Okechukwu, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed his views during a conversation with a select group of journalists in Abuja on Tuesday. He urged Nigerians to exercise caution and not be swayed by what he characterized as Atiku’s relentless quest to attain the presidency at any cost.

In response to CSU’s release of Tinubu’s documents to Atiku following a US court order on Monday, Okechukwu questioned Atiku’s moral authority to discuss the rule of law. He raised the issue of Atiku’s breach of his party’s constitution and the established national rotation convention, suggesting that Atiku’s actions were not consistent with the principles of equity and justice.

Okechukwu emphasized the importance of safeguarding Nigeria’s fledgling democracy and national unity, especially in the face of anti-democratic forces in the West African sub-region. He highlighted Atiku’s role in violating the rotation convention within the PDP and called on Atiku to apologize to both the PDP members he had betrayed and the Igbo community, which had supported the PDP for over two decades in the hope of a presidential turn in the 2023 elections.

The VON DG cautioned against following Atiku’s ambitious drive to attain the presidency, emphasizing the need to protect and nurture Nigeria’s evolving democratic system. While acknowledging imperfections in the upcoming 2023 presidential election, he urged against risking the country’s democracy in the face of external threats.

He further pointed out that democracy is an evolutionary process and suggested that Atiku’s relentless pursuit of power, regardless of the rules and conventions, could potentially disrupt the political landscape.