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From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
A civil rights group, The Progressive Counsel (TPC) has warned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against any litigation against President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, the group cautioned Atiku over the ongoing moves to dig up a non-existent case of drug conviction against President Tinubu.
The group, mostly composed of human rights lawyers, forensic auditors and policy analysts, recently rose from a meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, challenging the former vice president to first clear the citizenship question hanging over his head, before tackling Tinubu
In a statement titled, “Atiku must face the constitutional mirror,” by its Convener, Maiyegun Oloriegbe, the TPC scoffed at Atiku’s hanging query as to whether he is a Nigerian or a Cameroonian, while he is busy dissipating energies on drug accusation against Tinubu.
“Before Atiku Abubakar challenges President Tinubu’s eligibility for 2027, by digging up a non-existent case of drug conviction against Tinubu, he must first answer the citizenship question hanging over his own head,” the group posited.
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According to the group, Section 131 of the Constitution is clear, stating that a presidential candidate must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth, not by later incorporation, but by birth.
“The suit was aborted on procedural grounds, including the issue of locus standi. It was not a ruling on the merits that every constitutional doubt had been extinguished,” the group added.
Arguing further, the TPC stated, “Yet the same Atiku now races to court to put Tinubu under the microscope.”
The group insisted that “If Tinubu’s past can be investigated, investigate Atiku’s. If Tinubu’s academic and foreign records can be dissected, dissect Atiku’s. If Tinubu’s eligibility can be litigated, Atiku’s can be litigated with equal force.”
The body stressed that there is no constitutional immunity for Atiku Abubakar that warrants any delay in obtaining a legal determination of his citizenship status.
