Posted by According to Atiku Abubakar, the fight against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is for the good of all of Nigeria.
At a global press conference conducted in Abuja on Thursday, he stated that the fight against Tinubu's presidential eligibility was expressly intended to establish good governance, accountability, and probity in the public sector.
Atiku promised to fight the issue to a just end. He was joined at the briefing by a few former state governors and PDP leaders.
The PDP presidential contender acknowledged that fighting for justice would cost a lot of money, but he insisted that there would be no turning back until the fight was clearly won.
Atiku congratulated his domestic and foreign attorneys for a successful legal defense and urged Nigerians who want just government, accountability, and probity to join them.
He urged the Labour Party's Peter Obi and the New Nigeria People's Party's (NNPP) Rabiu Musa Kwankasso to support him in the fight to install a legitimate and legal government in the nation.
In the interest of future generations, Atiku stressed that Nigeria currently requires a genuine government, adding that Nigeria is larger than any one person.
The former vice president urged well-intentioned Nigerians to join the fight, stating that it was the responsibility of leaders to advance the welfare of the populace during times like these.
Part of Atiku's statement
“Dear Fellow Nigerians of the Federal Republic, I believe it is crucial to talk about and report to you on today's issues because they will define the future of legitimate leadership and electoral administration in our nation.
“Political leadership and engaged citizenship are important because they enable us to jointly create a nation that benefits all of its citizens.
“Our country is larger than all of us combined, and its position in the globe has an impact on everyone who is from or resides in it. It is our responsibility as leaders to advance the nation's and all of our citizens' well-being.
“To achieve this goal, my generation put a lot of effort into defending the right of the people to choose and build a legal government and bringing the soldiers back to the barracks.
“Our elections are guided by law and predicated on the constitution, which is the only source of legitimacy for leadership and administration in Nigeria.
“The public look up to us as leaders to uphold these laws and defend them if necessary. This gets us to this point.
“Today, we are once more called upon as a people to protect and defend the foundational principles of our nation's system of elected government. The criteria for candidates for the nation's highest elective office are set down in the constitution.
“The institutions involved should be able to do their job of determining the legitimacy of any diplomas offered by aspirants for public office without taking months or even decades.
“We embarked on this trip at tremendous expense and for significant purposes. The foundations for lawful government in our nation must be protected, and our reputation is on the line. Everyone is impacted, including Nigerians worldwide.
“I firmly believe in being a democrat and am proud to call this country my home. Our commitment to the nation and our constitution must be renewed in light of the issues at stake in this case.
“As citizens and leaders of the institutions tasked with interpreting our constitution, we now entrust these facts to us all. I should express my gratitude to the attorneys from both Nigeria and the United States who helped us bring clarity and firm resolutions to these problems that seem to have eluded our institutions for almost a quarter of a century.
“I also want to express my gratitude to the people of Nigeria, both within and outside the borders of our nation, for their patience as we looked for the facts and tried to determine the truth.
“I would like to honor the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, a human rights crusader who motivated us to go on this exploration. With the knowledge that the project he began nearly 23 years ago has been completed, he may now find true calm. The adage that “no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it” is validated by Gani's victory today.
Thomas Jefferson, a former president of the United States, famously stated, “If I had to choose between newspapers without government and government without newspapers, I wouldn't hesitate to select the latter.
“Journalists have maintained eternal vigilance by bridging the gap and stepping in when other branches of government have failed, from uncovering the Watergate crisis to dismantling the questionable certificates of politicians.
For these reasons, David Hundeyin, an independent journalist, deserves praise. His exceptional effort, along with that of many other young people like him, has inspired many others. Millions of young people in Nigeria, including citizen journalists, deserve special recognition for their dedication to publishing the truth online even when no one is paying attention. Indeed, perpetual vigilance is the price of liberty.
“In their steadfast determination to elucidate the truth and hold officials accountable, they have placed the needs of the nation first. This gives me faith that we have excellent allies in the fight to retake the nation we call home.
Atiku Abubakar is not the subject of this quest. It is an effort to establish accountability, morality, and truth in our public affairs.
In light of this, I am urging all well-meaning Nigerians—leaders of thought, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, our community leaders, our political leaders—in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP—as well as all other political party leaders in Nigeria—to join me in praying for the country's success.