Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections, says his change of name is well documented in an affidavit deposed to over 50 years ago.

In a statement on Sunday by Paul Ibe, his spokesperson, the former vice-president said President Bola Tinubu is attempting to drag him into “his drowning arena of forgery”.

On October 10, Abubakar clarified the discrepancy in the name on his West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) certificate which has “Siddiq” on it.

The development comes amid a certificate forgery allegation against Tinubu.

Describing Tinubu as a “forger-in-chief”, Abubakar said the president “has forged and lied about every aspect of his life, including “his heritage, name and date of birth, his education and certificates, and work experience”.

“Contrary to Bola A. Tinubu’s forgery shopping allegation against Atiku, it is on record that the change of name of the former vice president reverting to Atiku Abubakar from Siddiq Abubakar is well documented in an affidavit dated 18th of August 1973, spanning over a period of 50 years, (which incidentally is as old as the commencement of Tinubu’s life of forgeries and lies), is in the public domain,” the statement reads.

“Now, let’s put Bola A. Tinubu’s life of forgeries and lies in proper perspective.

“In 1999, Tinubu lied under oath in his form CF001 which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he attended St Paul’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos; Government College Ibadan, Chicago University (CU) and Chicago State University (CSU). 

“It has been established that he only attended CSU and that he secured admission into the university by impersonation.

“Through the discoveries of his records in the Chicago State University, we now know that Bola A. Tinubu forged a secondary school certificate of Government College Lagos, an HSC certificate from Cambridge  University and a transcript from Richard Daley College which belongs to a female owner.

“We also know, thanks to the discoveries, that the CSU few days to graduation in 1979, notified him of outstanding (or carry-over as it is known in Nigeria) pre-qualifying examinations in English, Mathematics and Comprehension, which never appeared on his transcript to have been retaken.

“After his odyssey in falsifying educational qualifications, Bola A. Tinubu claimed in his 1999 affidavit to contest for the position of Governor of Lagos State, that he had a working experience with Arthur Anderson Accounting, Deloitte and Mobil Nigeria.” 

Abubakar added that Authur Anderson and Deloitte have denied ever knowing or having any Tinubu in their employment, noting that “he has since stopped adding that to his official or public records since his exposure”.

“Curiously, handlers of this same Bola A. Tinubu have smuggled Adekunle, a middle name that magically popped up in his so-called National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate into his Wikipedia on the 6th of October, 2023. This may yet be another indication of a master forger at work,” he said.

Abubakar further stated that all the names he bears “are names that are traceable to his family tree”.

“He adopted Atiku Abubakar as his official name while in the employ of the Nigeria Customs Service,” the statement added. 

“Atiku’s life is an open book, and not the mystery or closed book that continues to define the life of Bola A. Tinubu.

“Conversely, Bola A Tinubu is a name that has no history nor social acquaintance until the late 1970s.

“We, therefore, urge Bola A. Tinubu and his handlers to desist from making any further attempt at comparing the career forger known as Bola A. Tinubu with an impeccable name that Atiku Abubakar has built over the years.”

Abubakar is challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 poll and the judgment of the tribunal that upheld the president’s victory on September 6.

The PDP candidate has consistently alleged that Tinubu’s educational records are fraught with discrepancies and forgeries.

His request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records has since been granted.

Abubakar has applied to the supreme court to file fresh evidence from his discovery of the president’s academic records against him.