Tinubu is urged by the coalition to revoke Atiku’s GCON national honour

To revoke Atiku Abubakar’s Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) title, the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Political Parties for Good Governance has petitioned President Bola Tinubu.

The group emphasised how important it is to respect the office of the president and how doing so would serve as a deterrence to others.

On Thursday in Abuja, the coalition’s leader, Dr. Lilian Ogbole, made the demand during a press conference.

She observed that while Peter Obi’s belated press conference on October 11, 2023, over the same issue, was at best childish, shameful, and laughable, Atiku’s recent press conference can aptly be described as a face-saving gimmick to capture power from the back door by stoking emotions and fabricating lies.

Ogbole underlined that instead of offering proof to refute Tinubu’s INEC submissions, Obi incredulously asked the President to assist him in presenting proof that would invalidate the credentials and data that Tinubu had provided to INEC.

The convener claimed that it was becoming more evident that Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, was in opposition to the interests of the country and had never supported or upheld the rule of law or true democracy.

According to Ogbole, Atiku, the People Democratic Party’s nominee for president in the 2003 election, was not a guy Nigerians could feel confidently entrusting with the wellbeing of the nation given his leadership track record.

“The fact that Alh. Atiku Abubakar repeatedly failed in his bid to become President of Nigeria is not enough justification for him to deliberately tarnish the reputation of Nigeria and that of the coveted office of the Vice President, which he once held,” she said. We will never longer see him do something like this because we find it to be unacceptable.

As participants in the process of nation-building, we would like to use this platform to urge His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to use the power granted to him by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) to defend the interests of the nation by denying Alh. Atiku Abubakar Sadiq the title of Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON).

“You will concur with us that a man of Atiku’s character is not honourable and does not deserve to keep the award that is intended for honourable men and women of repute.”