Isaac Samuel
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has raised fresh questions over alleged discrepancies in the academic certificate President Bola Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), challenging the president to explain why he should be held to a different standard from ordinary Nigerians.
Atiku spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing the ADC National Youth Leadership Summit, where he urged young Nigerians to take ownership of the country’s political future ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Using the example of a young Nigerian applying for a job, Atiku said an applicant presenting certificates containing conflicting dates, signatures or descriptions would ordinarily be required to explain the discrepancies and could potentially have the application rejected.
“If you were applying for a job today and submitted a certificate bearing one date, while another version of what purports to be the same certificate carried a different date and different signatures, what do you think your prospective employer would do?
“They would ask you to explain yourself. They might even reject your application,” he said.
He drew a comparison with the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic credentials.
“Yet today, serious questions remain about the exact certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission. One version reportedly says June 22, another June 27; questions have also been raised about the signatures and the description of the degree,” Atiku said.
The former vice president stressed that he was not asking his audience to accept his position without scrutiny, but wanted the same standard of accountability applied to political leaders as would be applied to ordinary citizens.
“I am not asking you to accept my conclusion. I am asking something much simpler: if a young Nigerian would be required to explain such discrepancies before getting an ordinary job, why should the man seeking Nigeria’s highest job be exempt from the same standard?” he asked.
Atiku said the issue was part of the broader change he believed Nigeria needed, particularly the elimination of what he described as unequal standards for people in positions of authority and ordinary citizens.
“That is part of the Nigeria we must change—a Nigeria where there is one standard for those in power and another for everyone else,” he said.
‘Your time is now’
Speaking extensively on the role of young Nigerians in the 2027 elections, Atiku said the country’s youths had been asked for decades to wait for their turn to lead, arguing that the waiting period had lasted too long.
“I stand before you today not simply as a presidential candidate asking for your support. I stand before you as a Nigerian who believes that our young people have waited long enough,” he said.
“For decades, young Nigerians have been told to be patient, to wait their turn, and to prepare themselves because they are the leaders of tomorrow. But tomorrow has been promised to Nigerian youths for too long.
“Your time is not tomorrow. Your time is now.”
Atiku said young Nigerians were experiencing a country significantly different from the one they were promised, noting that education, hard work and diligence no longer guaranteed employment or economic security.
He cited the increasing migration of Nigerian professionals abroad, describing the phenomenon popularly known as “Japa” as more than a slang expression.
“You have watched talented friends and classmates—doctors, engineers, accountants, software developers and other professionals—pack their bags for Canada, the United Kingdom, America and elsewhere in search of opportunities their own country should be capable of providing.
“We call it Japa, but it is more than a slang word. It is a verdict on a system that has failed to give many of its brightest young people sufficient reason to believe that their dreams can be realised at home,” he said.
According to Atiku, however, young Nigerians who remain in the country have demonstrated remarkable resilience by creating businesses, working in technology, agriculture and the creative industries and finding ways to survive despite difficult economic conditions.
He argued that the achievements of young Nigerians despite inadequate infrastructure demonstrated what could be achieved if government institutions worked effectively.
“If Nigerian youths can achieve so much while struggling against unreliable electricity, poor infrastructure, insecurity, unemployment and limited access to capital, imagine what you can accomplish when government actually works,” he said.
Atiku promises 30% youth representation
Atiku also pledged to deliberately open more political space for young Nigerians under the ADC, promising that at least 30 per cent of the party’s legislative candidates would be below 40.
“At least 30 percent of our legislative candidates will be under the age of forty, and I want to see a significant number under thirty,” he said.
The ADC candidate also outlined areas in which he said his administration would focus if elected president in 2027.
He promised to expand access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people working in the creative economy.
According to him, access to government-backed opportunities should not depend on political connections, surnames or having a “godfather”.
“Your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather should not determine whether a good idea receives an opportunity to succeed,” he said.
He also called for reforms in education, saying Nigeria could no longer continue training young people for an economy that no longer exists.
Atiku blamed government policies for some of the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians, saying hardship did not simply happen without decisions being made by those in authority.
“Under the current APC administration, millions of young Nigerians are confronting an economy in which the cost of simply surviving has become a daily battle,” he said.
He cited unemployment, rising operating costs for businesses, the cost of food, transportation and housing as challenges confronting citizens.
“Leadership is not the art of explaining suffering. Leadership is the responsibility to reduce it,” Atiku said.
He said the 2027 election would therefore present Nigerians with a choice over the kind of leadership and economic direction they wanted.
The former vice president also used the summit to issue a warning to INEC, security agencies and the Tinubu administration over the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.
Atiku expressed concern over the scale of security deployment ahead of the poll, saying it created the impression that the country was preparing for a military operation rather than a democratic election.
“What we are witnessing in the build-up to that election is deeply troubling. The scale and posture of security deployment make it appear as though Nigeria is preparing for war rather than conducting an election,” he said.
“Elections are civil engagements, not military operations. Ballot papers are not bullets. Voters are not enemy combatants. Opposition members are not insurgents.”
He questioned why the same level of security mobilisation was not being directed at terrorists, kidnappers and bandits attacking communities across the country.
Atiku described the Osun election as a test for the country’s democratic institutions and called on INEC to ensure that there were no unexplained delays, glitches or manipulation.
“Osun is a test,” he said.
“There must be no mysterious glitches. No unexplained delays. No manipulation of the process.”
He demanded prompt delivery of election materials, free voting by accredited voters, transparent counting and transmission of results in accordance with the law.
He also warned the federal government against using state institutions for partisan advantage.
“The police belong to Nigeria. The military belongs to Nigeria. INEC belongs to the Nigerian people. None of them belongs to the APC,” Atiku said.
He urged the authorities to allow voters to freely exercise their franchise.
“Let the people vote. Let every vote count. And let the will of the people prevail,” he said.
‘
