Following the allegation of forgery against President Bola Tinubu, a group on the aiges of Democracy Vanguard of Nigerians in Diaspora (DVND) has written to the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, asking for the derecognition of Nigeria’s President.
The theatre was dated 6 October 2023 and signed by the DVND’s president, Timothy A. Sule, who also copied Secretary Antony Blinken.
U.S. Secretary of State, Chairman Michael McCaul, Chairman of House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Secretary Molly Phee Assistant Secretary of African Affairs.
The letter, which was made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja, is titled “Chicago State University Certificate Scandal: A call to derecognize Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigeria’s President for forgery, perjury, and flagrant breach of the constitution of Nigeria.”
According to the letter, the Chicago State University complies with the United States District Court verdict for the Northern District of Illinois given in favour of Tinubu’s closest challenger, Mr Atiku Abubakar, who released the academic records of Tinubu. To the bewilderment of all, the certificate Tinubu presented to the INEC has some fundamental discrepancies with the certificates released by the CSU within the period Tinubu claimed to have graduated from the institution.
The letter said the United States should not be used as a catalyst for legitimizing and recognizing a man with serious character deficiencies.
It reads: “The Democracy Vanguard of Nigerians in Diaspora (a Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organization involved in a global network for the protection of Democratic tenets around the world and especially on the continent of Africa) is constrained at this juncture to write to your office, drawing your kind attention to the unfolding scandalous actions of the President of Nigeria, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Mr. Tinubu was recently inaugurated as President of Nigeria after a keenly contested, highly disputed, and unconscionably rigged election. The election that brought in Mr Tinubu was adjudged by both local and international election observers as mindlessly compromised, manipulated, and doctored in favour of Tinubu’s All Progressive Congress political party.
“Sundry allegations trailed Tinubu and his campaign in the build-up to the elections. Prominent among these allegations is the issue of being a big-time drug baron in the United States where he was convicted for drug trafficking and money laundering and was ordered to forfeit the proceeds from the crime to the American Government to which Tinubu complied.
“Mr Tinubu who possessed no Primary and High School certificates with no trace of ever attending classes or writing examinations for these certificates was also accused of falsifying the Chicago State University degree with which he contested Nigeria’s presidential election.
“The constitution of the country stipulates that a candidate for the office of President of Nigeria must present a minimum of elementary certificates, in this case, the Primary School leaving Certificate.
“Mr. Tinubu failed to meet this requirement of the law. Rather, in his usual braggadocious and fraudulent manner, he allegedly submitted a Chicago State University forged certificate to Nigeria’s electoral body.
“The Nigerian Constitution is trite to the effect that whoever presents a doctored or falsified document to the electoral umpire shall summarily be disqualified. This, in our be the awaiting fate of Mr. Tinubu.
“Specifically, by Tinubu’s actions, he has breached Sections 137(1) J of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Section 134 of Nigeria’s Electoral Act. A community reading of these laws stipulates that any person who presents a forged certificate to the Electoral body stands disqualified from the election. In this case, Mr. Tinubu has deceitfully presented forged certificates to enable him to contest the presidential election, and he must be disqualified and derecognized as President.
“For democracy to thrive, laws must be obeyed, and the sanctity of electoral processes must be upheld by political actors and stakeholders. This is what is obtainable in the United States, where a former President is currently being tried in a court of law for various infractions.
“This noble body is, therefore, respectfully calling on you to use your good office to act by immediately severing any ties to the illegitimate government in Nigeria and to officially facilitate the derecognition of Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President of Nigeria.
Clearly, Tinubu has a questionable mandate and he lacks the legitimacy to govern Nigeria at the moment having repeatedly and shamelessly perjured over time.”
