Several days after Dr. Josef Onoh, former spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu in the South East, exposed alleged discrepancies in the documents and affidavits pertaining to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku’s media team have maintained silence, declining to offer a defense or acknowledgment of these allegations against their principal.

On Tuesday, Onoh, an aspirant for the 2023 Enugu Gubernatorial election, accused the former Vice President of certificate forgery, impersonation, and inconsistencies in the primary, secondary, and tertiary certificates presented by Atiku. He specifically pointed out that the August 18, 1973, name change affidavit, brandished by Atiku, was purportedly created on a Saturday, which contradicts the working days on which Nigerian courts typically issue such documents. Additionally, there was no evidence of a deed poll document for his 1965 name change, as required by law.

Onoh labeled Atiku as the ‘Harry Houdini’ of impersonation and accused him of being a ‘Cam Gerian’ parading a fake affidavit, with no proof of his Nigerian citizenship during the relevant period.

In contrast to Atiku’s media aides, who are usually quick to respond, their current silence has led to speculation that Onoh’s allegations may hold weight, and Atiku may have been taken aback by the revelations made by his political adversaries.

Reactions have unsurprisingly emerged in response to the allegations against the PDP’s presidential candidate, who had recently taken President Tinubu to Chicago State University (CSU) to verify the President’s submitted certificates.

Online users have expressed various opinions, with some suggesting that Atiku’s revelations were a reaction to his attacks on President Tinubu. Others have called for Atiku to be held accountable for what they perceive as apparent inconsistencies in the affidavit. Meanwhile, a Facebook user pointed out the inefficiency of President Tinubu’s appointed aides and commended Onoh for being more effective than the presidential media team.

In a separate development following Onoh’s allegations against Atiku, his service history while serving in the Nigerian immigration has also been called into question, with claims that it could demonstrate his non-Nigerian status. The Nigeria Immigration Service has stated that it is unable to locate Atiku’s service records since he retired as a Deputy Comptroller General before entering politics.

Atiku began his career with the Customs Service in 1969 after completing a Diploma in Law program at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He retired under controversial circumstances in April 1989, having risen to the position of Deputy Director of Customs, which is equivalent to Deputy Comptroller-General.

Investigations at Customs offices in Abuja and Lagos revealed that the organization could not find Atiku’s file in its archives. A senior Customs official noted that the organization had made previous efforts to obtain Atiku’s service records without success, citing challenges with archiving and record-keeping, or the deliberate removal of files as possible reasons. As a result, the Customs Service can only locate files for employees who joined the service in the early 1990s, leaving no records on employees from Atiku’s generation.