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Atiku Not Nigerian, Not Qualified to Contest Presidency – APC
The All Progressives Congress has said that Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the 2019 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, is not a citizen of Nigeria by birth and ought not to have even been allowed in the first place to contest the election.
APC said this in response to the election petition filed before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
APC, the third respondent to the petition, faulted the grounds of the petition, adding that Atiku “is not a citizen of Nigeria by birth and ought not to have even been allowed in the first place to contest the election.”
APC also faulted the claim by the petitioners that they obtained the authentic results of the February 23, 2019 election from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s server showing that they won the election.
INEC had, on February 27, 2019, declared the APC alongside its candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, winner of the election with 15,191,847 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku, whom it said polled 11,262,978 votes.
But the petitioners stated in their 139-page petition anchored on five grounds that “from the data in the 1st respondent’s (INEC’s) server…the true, actual and correct results” from “state to state computation” showed that Atiku polled a total of 18,356,732 votes defeat Buhari whom they said scored 16,741,430 votes.
They said the results were the total votes scored by the candidates in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, as there was “no report on sever” about the results from Rivers State as of February 25, 2019.
By calculation, Atiku and PDP claimed to have defeated Buhari by 1,615,302 votes.
In its reply filed through its lead counsel, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the APC said the data and computation of results on state-by-state basis were not legitimate.
The party stated that only the results declared by INEC were authentic.
The party averred that Atiku was born on Nov. 25, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa, in Northern Cameroon and was therefore a citizen of Cameroon and not a Nigerian by birth.
According to APC, contrary to the assertion of Atiku in his petition, he has no right to be voted for as a candidate in the election to the office of president of Nigeria.
Apart from the issue of the origin of Atiku, the APC asserted that most of the claims contained in his petition had become statute barred and that the tribunal was not the appropriate place to entertain such.
The APC specifically said that the issue of the educational qualification of Buhari as raised by Atiku could not be treated by the Tribunal.
The party said this was because the period for claims and objections on such issues had expired.
It maintained that the petitioners failed and neglected to use the appropriate period to challenge the validity of the educational qualification of Buhari.
Atiku had in his petition to the tribunal, faulted the conduct of the Feb. 23 Presidential Election on grounds of non-compliance with relevant electoral laws and other malpractices such as intimidation of voters.
The former Vice President and PDP claimed to have scored the majority of the lawful votes in the election and prayed the tribunal to declare them as winners of the election.
In the alternative, he prayed for an order for the cancellation of the election and another order by the tribunal directing INEC to conduct a fresh election that would conform with relevant laws.
No date has, however, been fixed for hearing of the petition.
The Punch
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
Publisher of The Boss Newspaper and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dele Momodu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to “kill democracy in Nigeria.”
The appeal, which was made while Momodu was fielding questions during a live television show on Channel TV’s Morning Brief on Monday, was an aftermath of President Tinubu’s suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly for six months due to a political crisis in the state.
The journalist expressed his concern over Tinubu’s decision, which he described the move as “worse than dictatorship.”
He added that he was disappointed by the president’s actions, especially given Tinubu’s past fight for democracy.
Momodu stated, “I think it is very unfortunate. I know President Tinubu very, very, very well. Though I’ve not been in the same party [with him] and all that, we were together in exile, and he fought gallantly for this democracy,” he said.
“So a lot of us, co-comrades at that time, are actually very embarrassed that we have a pro-democracy leader in government, and yet what we are witnessing is worse than dictatorship.
“I’m pleading with President Bola Tinubu, ‘Please don’t kill democracy in Nigeria.’ Everybody who loves him will tell him this. I don’t; I’ve not asked him for anything or anything, but we love him for his contributions to the motivation in the back, which is what is going down the drain.”
He also warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was trying to intimidate the opposition, urging Tinubu not to be misled by those around him, adding that he does not need to intimidate anybody.
“I’m saying it now openly to millions of Nigerians that people are deceiving President Tinubu, and he should not allow people to deceive you,” he said.
“He should just do his job. The only thing that can guarantee a second time is to do your job well. You do not need to intimidate anybody.”
President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Sunday, joined others for prayers at the National Eid ground in Abuja, as Nigerian Muslims mark the Eid-El-Fitr celebrations together with millions of others around the world.
Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and some ministers also observed the prayer at the same venue.
Eid-El-Fitr, meaning the festival of breaking the fast, is a time of gratitude, charity and communal harmony.
It began with special prayers known as Eid prayers held in Mosques and open spaces. Following the prayers, families share festive meals, exchange gifts and extend warm greetings.
Eid is a time to remember those less fortunate and to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. A key component of Eid is Zakat al Fitr, a mandatory charitable donation intended to ensure everyone irrespective of their financial situation can participate in the joy of the celebration.
This act of giving embodies the spirit of compassion and solidarity that Ramdan emphasizes. From the elaborate feast of South Asia to the festive clothing of Nigeria and the African continent and the warm gatherings of the Middle East, Eid celebrations vary across cultures, showcasing the rich diversity of the Muslim world.
However, the underlining message of unity, gratitude and compassion remains universal.
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday from today, but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until Monday.
“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday.
But neighbouring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, said that Eid al-Fitr would not begin until Monday because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.
