By Abdallah el-Kurebe, Editor
#TrackNigeria: The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the preliminary objection raised at the Presidential Election Tribunal by President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he is not a citizen of Nigeria by birth and therefore ought not to have contested in the general elections.
In his reply, Atiku in a 60-page response averred that he is a citizen of Nigeria by Birthand therefore qualified to vote and be voted for and returned in the election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, held on Saturday 23rd February, 2019 considering the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“The 1st Petitioner was born on 25th November, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa State by Nigerian Parents and he is therefore a citizen of Nigeria by Birth.
“The 1st Petitioner’s father, Garba Atiku Abdulkadir was a Nigerian by Birth who hailed from Wurno in present day Sokoto State while the mother, Aisha Kande was also a Nigerian who hailed from Dutse in present day Jigawa State.
“The parents of the 1st Petitioner are both Fulani, a community/tribe indigenous to Nigeria.
“The birth of the 1st Petitioner in Jada, in present day Adamawa State of Nigeria was occasioned by the movement of his paternal grandfather called Atiku who was an itinerant trader, from Wurno in present day Sokoto State to Jada in the company of his friend, Ardo Usman.
“That in Jada, Atiku, the grandfather of the 1st Petitioner gave birth to Garba who in turn gave birth to the 1st Petitioner and named him after his own father Atiku.
“The 1st Petitioner’s mother, Aisha Kande was the grand-daughter of Inuwa Dutse who came to Jada as an itinerant trader too from Dutse in present day Jigawa State.
“That all averments concerning Germany, British Cameroons, League of Nations and Plebiscite are false and misleading in relation to the 1st Petitioner and therefore completely irrelevant more so that the 1st Petitioner is a Nigerian by birth within the contemplation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” Atiku averred.
He pleaded that at all material times, he had been a Nigerian by birth and had participated in careers and political activities and had also received awards and honours in Nigeria.
“The 1st Petitioner was a civil servant in the Nigerian Customs Service for over 20 years and retired as a Deputy Director.
“The 1st Petitioner has been a Nigerian politician for about 30 years and in 1992 he contested in the Presidential Primaries under the platform of then Social Democratic Party (SDP) alongside the late Chief M.K.O Abiola and Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe.
“The 1st Petitioner contested for and won the 1999 Gubernatorial election in Adamawa State under the platform of the 2nd Petitioner.
“The Former President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR and the 1st Petitioner contested for and won the 1999 and 2003 Presidential Elections, respectively as President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the 2nd Petitioner.
“The 1st Petitioner is the recipient of the National Honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).
“The 1st Petitioner was the traditional title holder of Turakin Adamawa from 1982 to 2017 when he was elevated to Wazirin Adamawa.
“In 2007, the 1st Petitioner contested Presidential election under the platform of Action Congress (AC) and the 2nd Respondent contested under the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP).
“In 2014, the 1st Petitioner and the 2nd Respondent contested the Presidential Primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the 3rd Respondent for the 2015 Presidential Elections,” Atiku further stated.
He therefore averred that his petition was not only competent but also meritorious and that APC’s reply was both lacking in substance and was full of contradiction.
“The Petition is competent and meritorious and the return of the 2nd Respondent by the 1st Respondent is undue and wrongful.
“The 3rd Respondent (APC’s) Reply does not answer the points of substance in the Petition but same is full of extraneous facts, contradictory, diversionary, evasive, speculative and vague assertions,” Atiku said.
