Following increased public scrutiny into the real identity of the former Vice President of Nigeria and PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, fresh information has now emerged indicating that Atiku’s service record at the Nigerian Customs Service cannot be found.
According to Atiku, he joined the Customs Service in 1969 after he allegedly graduated from Ahmadu Bello University following his completion of a two-year law programme in the University. He was retired from the Customs under controversial circumstances in 1989 after attaining the position of Deputy Director of Customs.
According to a senior Custom official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the customs leadership had made efforts in the past to get the service records of Atiku Abubakar with no success.
This revelation is coming out on the heels of the discovery of loopholes in Atiku’s academic records and identity. The WAEC certificate submitted by Atiku Abubakar to INEC (which he publicly affirmed) bear the Siddiq Abubakar.
In trying to explain away the name difference, Atiku stated that he swore an affidavit in 1973 to officially change his name back to Atiku Abubakar from Siddiq Abubakar. Curiously, he stated earlier on through Dele Momodu that he got admitted into Kano School of Hygiene and Ahmadu Bello University as Atiku Abubakar and was employed into the Nigerian Customs Service as Atiku Abubakar.
From the foregoing it means that Atiku Abubakar lied that he got employed into Customs with the name Atiku Abubakar since he was employed into Customs in 1969 while he swore an affidavit of change of name in 1973. It is therefore probable that his 1973 affidavit was to straighten his Siddiq certificate theft and regularise his profile as Atiku Abubakar in the Nigerian Customs record.
It is also on record that the former Vice President, established his logistics firm, Intel in 1982 while still serving as a Customs Officer in clear disregard of the public service rules. Atiku Abubakar has never denied this breach of the public service rule. Intel went on to become the largest logistics firms in the country relying mostly on government patronage in the oil and gas industry.
It is hoped that with this latest twist in the identity crisis rocking the former Vice President, he will come clean and chronicle very clearly his history change of identity and provide his admission letters into the Kano School of Hygiene and ABU as well as his appointment and confirmation letter as a Customs Officer. This will provide greater clarity on who truly is Atiku Abubakar between 1965 and 1973.