Certificate: Don’t Suffocate Tinubu, Igbo Leader Tells Opposition

The Deputy Apex leader of Ndigbo in Lagos APC, Sir Jude Idimogu, on Friday appealed to opposition parties to allow President Bola Tinubu breathe and concentrate on governance in the interest of the masses.

Idimogu, the immediate past two-term lawmaker, who represented Oshodi-Isolo Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, made the appeal in an interview with Newsmen in Lagos.

The former lawmaker, said that after the verdict of the 2023 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, opposition parties and their candidates needed to rally round the President in the interest of the nation.

According to him, politicians against the victory of Tinubu at the Feb. 25 Presidential election and at the court must avoid actions capable of dragging the country’s name in the mud.

The lawmaker, reacting to the certificate saga levelled against President Tinubu by PDP’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, described such allegation as politics taken too far and capable of destroying the image of the country.

“All I want to tell good Nigerians is to understand that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, did not and will never forge any certificate, and whatever he submitted to INEC is clean and true.

“We want to appeal to Nigerians to calm down and not allow themselves to be deceived by those dragging Nigeria’s name in the mud.

“We want the opposition to allow our President, who God gave to us to breathe. Please allow him to breathe for the sake of the masses,” Idimogu said.

Stating that the Chicago State University never said that the certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC was fake or forged, the lawmaker said that narratives by PDP was an embarrassment to the nation.

He added, ” They (opposition) should desist from trying to tarnish the image of Nigeria and that of the President Bola Tinubu.”

According to him, Tinubu is a God-sent President to Nigeria and the best the nation can ever have.

He said that the only thing Nigerians should do was to give the President total and maximum support for the president to lead the nation out of her challenges.

“There is nothing anyone can do right now because God has ordained him to be President, and he emerged in spite of all visible hurdles.

“God has crowned him as President, we should stop all pettiness.

“No matter what the detractors are doing, they cannot pull Tinubu down because God and Nigerians are behind him and he is a man of grace.

“The opposition should note this and wait for another election period.

“The matter of certificate is a pre-election matter and cannot make any opposition presidential candidate come through the back door,” Idimogu said.

The lawmaker described those behind Tinubu’s certificate issues, as interlopers, who would not achieve anything in the journey they have embarked upon.

“We know that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will overcome as always and he has passed such hurdles several times,” he added.

OSUN DEFENDER recalls that PDP’s Atiku on Thursday addressed a news conference in Abuja, which focused on the validity and authenticity of President Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University.

Atiku has vowed to appeal the tribunal ruling of Sept. 6, which upheld the election of President Tinubu as the winner of the Feb. 25 Presidential election.

• Yusuf Oketola