Taiwo Adeyemo
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar’s clarification regarding discrepancies in his Senior School Certificate has sparked various reactions.
As reported by Vanguard News, Atiku’s spokesperson, Chief Dele Momodu, addressed the issue in response to allegations of forgery from members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Momodu explained that the clarification was prompted by concerns raised by some APC members regarding the name “Sadiq Abubakar” on Atiku’s WAEC certificate compared to his other credentials.
He stated that he relayed these accusations to Atiku, who explained the inconsistency.
Atiku stated that he used the name Sadiq Abubakar when taking his WAEC exams. After passing, he legally affirmed that Sadiq Abubakar and Atiku Abubakar are the same person. He then proceeded to the university under the name Atiku Abubakar.
He emphasized, “I went to ABU as Atiku Abubakar and passed my exams as Atiku Abubakar, interviewed as Atiku Abubakar by the Federal Civil Service Commission, and was hired into the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar. So where is the forgery there?”
In response, some Nigerians on social media expressed surprise that Atiku also had certificate discrepancies to address, especially after accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of certificate forgery.
Others lamented the prevalence of leaders being embroiled in certificate controversies, while there are countless job seekers with genuine and accurate certificates.