‘There’s no forgery’ — Atiku explains why his WAEC certificate bears Siddiq Abubakar

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has explained the discrepancy in the name on his West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) certificate.

In a post on X, Dele Momodu, former director of strategic communications of the Atiku Abubakar/Ifeanyi Okowa presidential campaign council, said the former vice-president offered the explanation following allegations of forgery against him by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The WAEC certificate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the last elections, bears Siddiq Abubakar and has since sparked heated debate on social media after it became widely known.

“The APC busybodies have been bombarding me with allegations of forgery against my Principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON) which I immediately forwarded to him and here is his copious response,” Momodu wrote.

Responding via Momodu, Abubakar said he used the name “Siddiq” when he wrote his WAEC, adding that he later swore an affidavit to declare that “Abubakar Sadiq” and “Atiku Abubakar” are the same person.

“Yes I used Sadiq Abubakar to sit for my WAEC and after passing my exams I went to swear an affidavit to say I am the same person as ATIKU Abubakar,” Momodu quoted him as saying.

“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 hired into the Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar. So where is forgery there?”

The development comes amid a certificate forgery allegation against President Bola Tinubu.

Abubakar is challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 poll and the judgment of the tribunal that upheld the president’s victory on September 6.

The PDP candidate has consistently alleged that Tinubu’s educational records are fraught with discrepancies and forgeries.

His request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records has since been granted.

Abubakar has applied to the supreme court to file fresh evidence from his discovery of the president’s academic records against him.