- APC witness simply identified as ADM has reaffirmed that former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, is not a Nigerian
- The ruling APC had told election petition tribunal that Atiku was not qualified to contest Saturday, February 23, presidential election because he is a Cameroonian
- ADM also noted that Atiku’s claim that he is a Nigerian by birth is not true
A witness of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the on-going presidential election petition tribunal as said that the candidate of Peoples democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, lied by claiming that he is a Nigerian by birth.
Nigerian Tribunal reports that the witness who claimed to be a close friend of Atiku’s late father, had alleged that neither of Atiku’s parents was a Nigerian.
Legit.ng gathered that the unnamed family friend of Garba, Atiku’s late father, in a fresh document filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the presidential election petition tribunal, sitting in Abuja, also gave details of Atiku’s early years and how his father died.
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It was learnt that in a statement filed by the APC witness, simply identified with the initials, ADM, the party said Atiku’s claim that he is a Nigerian by birth is not true.
The witness said, in his deposition that, “l, ADM, adult, Nigerian citizen of Adamawa state was a close family friend to the 1st petitioner’s (Atiku) late father. I know the family and I am familiar with the 1st petitioner’s background: who was born on the 25th November, 1946 to a Fulani trader and farmer by name, Garba Abubakar, from his second wife, Aisha Kande, in Jada village of northern Cameroon.
“I know the 1st petitioner was named after his paternal grandfather, Atiku Abdulkadir and became the only child of his parents after his only sister died at infancy.
“I also know about the unfortunate incidence of the death of the 1st petitioner’s father in 1957, who drowned while crossing a river to Toungo. a neighbouring village to Jada in Northern Cameroon.
“I do know that the 1st petitioner has, in all his documentations that are made public in national dailies or official gazettes, stated that he hails from Jada town in Adamawa state, from Ganye local government area, regarded as the mother of the whole Chamba ethnic group (Chamba tribe).
He further stated that, “I know as a fact that, as at the time the 1st petitioner was born on the 25th November, 1946 to a FulanI trader and farmer, Garba Abubakar, Jada village and other parts of Chamba land in the then northern Cameroon, were still part of the British Cameroons and not Nigeria.
“None of the 1st petitioner’s parents or grandparents was born in Nigeria. The 1st petitioner‘s father died as a citizen of northern Cameroon in 1957 prior to the referendum of 1st June, 1961 which made northern Cameroon to become part of Nigeria.
“The 1st petitioner’s ancestral origin is deeply rooted in the then northern Cameroon, not Nigeria and I know as a fact that the 1st petitioner is not a Nigerian citizen by birth.
He also noted that while France integrated the economy of its part of the Cameroons with that of the mother colonial France, the British on the other hand, administered its part (British Cameroons) from neighbouring Nigeria, making Jada, the 1st petitioner’s place of birth, a British franchise.
It would be recalled that, APC, in its response to Atiku’s petition challenging the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the February 23 presidential election at the tribunal, argued that he was not a Nigerian by birth.
The party alleged that because Atiku is not a Nigerian by birth, he was not qualified, under Section 131(a) of the Constitution to contest for the office of President.
Atiku, in his response said he was a Nigerian by birth because his parents are both Fulani, a community/tribe indigenous to Nigeria.
He said he was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa state by Nigerian parents and he is therefore a citizen of Nigeria by birth.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a Sokoto based group known as the auspices of Concerned Citizens of Sokoto state rejected the claim that the paternal origin of Atiku Abubakar could be traced to Sokoto state.
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Source: Legit.ng
