The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has outlined the sole way for PDP’s Atiku Abubakar to substantiate his claim that President Bola Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to INEC.
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Speaking on Sunday, Keyamo stated that unless the specific vendor who issued Tinubu’s replacement certificate from Chicago State University denies its authenticity, Atiku’s accusations hold no weight.
The minister, boasting of his over 30 years as a lawyer, said the onus is on the accuser to prove forgery, not the accused. He argued Atiku can only prove his allegations by tracking down the vendor responsible for Tinubu’s certificate to confirm if it is fake.
Keyamo insisted President Tinubu is innocent and that neither the university nor any forensic report has contested the certificate’s validity. He said they are fully prepared to meet Atiku and his lawyers at the Supreme Court appeal.
The minister drew a distinction between Tinubu’s case and Buhari’s previous certificate issues, affirming Tinubu is “as clean and white as snow”.
Atiku plans to submit Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State to bolster his appeal against the election outcome. But Keyamo contends he lacks credible evidence of forgery so far.
The PDP candidate must prove his claims by getting the involved vendor to disown the certificate, Keyamo reiterated. He said the burden of proof lies with Atiku, not Tinubu.
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