Why We’re Testing Atiku’s Citizenship At Tribunal – Keyamo

The spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has said that the decision to test the matter of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s citizenship in court was a collective decision reached by more than 18 senior advocates representing the President and the APC at the Election Petition Tribunal.

Abubakar has petitioned the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, alleging that the March 9, 2019 presidential election was manipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in favour of the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking on Channels TV on Sunday night, Keyamo, stressed that the fact that Atiku served as a vice president for eight years does not make him a Nigerian, saying, “That is irrelevant.”

He queried, “Did you have access to security reports then; did the court look at that issue at that time? We are talking of qualifications to be President of Nigeria, not qualifications to be a Customs officer.”

Keyamo posited that the fact that matter of Atiku’s citizenship has never been tested in court before does not provide a platform for someone to keep doing “something that is wrong”.

The senior advocate noted that the issue of citizenship was just one of the six grounds raised to challenge the petition filed by the PDP at the Tribunal.

He charged “those who are informed” to go and read thoroughly Section 131 in conjunction with Section 25 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

“I can tell you for free that since 1960, this is the most useless petition that has been presented before any court of law, or any Tribunal to adjudicate,” he said.