A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revoke the National Merit Award of Grand Commander of the Niger (GCON) bestowed on the former Vice President and People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Political Parties for Good Governance made this call during a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.
The National Convener of the group, Dr Ogbole Ene Lilian, asserted that the PDP’s inquiry into Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s certificate at Chicago State University in the United States was an embarrassment to the nation.
Dr Lilian insisted that the former Vice President should be stripped of national honour, describing his actions as a mockery of the collective sensibility of a people committed to the ideals of constitutional democracy.
She stated, “We are not shocked or perplexed that Atiku is going to such lengths because he has always been a bad loser and an undependable ally.
He is definitely not the man we can comfortably entrust Nigeria to, given his appalling and nauseating leadership antecedents.
“The fact that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar serially lost his bid to become the President of Nigeria isn’t enough reason for him to deliberately drag the image of Nigeria and that of the coveted office of the Vice President, which he once occupied, in the mud.
This is unacceptable to us, and we will not sit back and watch him do such things.
“As stakeholders in the business of nation-building, we wish to use this medium to call on His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to utilise the authority conferred on him by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended to protect the image and interest of the country by stripping Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the National Honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
“You will agree with us that a man with Atiku’s character is not honourable and doesn’t deserve to keep the award meant for honourable men and women of repute.
This will also serve as a deterrent to others so that Nigerians can begin to attach some regard to the office of the president.
“We are not surprised that even when the highest authority and institution saddled with the responsibility of authenticating the president’s certificate have revealed the needful, these baseless, unfounded, and trivial allegations by these individuals have not been put to rest.
The motives are very clear: to distract our President and government, but unfortunately, they have failed woefully.”
Paul Ibe, media adviser to Atiku Abubakar, told the Nigerian Tribune in a telephone interview that Atiku’s mission was not to embarrass Tinubu but to unearth the truth regarding the university certificate earned by Tinubu, which he claimed has been dogged by allegations of forgery for over two decades.
He stated, “Atiku isn’t embarrassing Tinubu. It is Tinubu who has become an embarrassment to himself, Nigeria, and West Africa, where he is Chairman of ECOWAS.
He has become an embarrassment to Africa; he is an embarrassment to the community of nations. If he has a modicum of respect for himself, he should resign.
“What do you say of a man who has perpetually been lying to himself? Even if he went to Chicago, he has lied under oath.”
Ibe also declared that the former Vice President was willing to relinquish the National Award of GCON if Tinubu would take the honourable path of resignation from the exalted seat of President based on his university certificate, which he claimed was forged.
“If that is what will make Tinubu do the needful, they can go to hell with it. Atiku is merely asking Tinubu to reintroduce himself to Nigerians.
That group is irresponsible. We have a president who has only presided over a Federal Executive Council meeting once.
They should be asking themselves, Where is Tinubu? That should be the question they should be asking if they truly crave good governance.
“That group is an enabler of forgery. Atiku’s honour is statutory as Vice President, but if that is what they want, they should take it.”
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