Jennifer Abubakar, one of the wives of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has confirmed her divorce to the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
In a statement obtained on Tuesday, the ex-VP’s wife explained that she didn’t request divorce because Atiku married a new wife.
“That His Excellency married a new wife was never the cause of our problem as many have said. His Excellency is a Moslem and I have never questioned him about his wives or intended,” she said.
According to her, some of Atiku’s friends tried to mediate and stop the divorce but their efforts failed.
Jennifer explained that “the core reason for the divorce was disagreement over my continued stay in the United Kingdom”.
She also claimed that Atiku has requested to collect an asset previously given to her, adding that the property in Dubai is a subject of litigation.
The estranged wife added, “During the initial mediation discussion, Excellency denied that he gifted the house (matrimonial home in Asokoro) even after I showed him the document with the signatures of his aide, his Excellency asked me to give him the deed of gift.
“’When I asked him, where will I and the kids stay when we come to Nigeria?’, he told me that since I am the one that asked for a divorce, I should find a place to stay, and subsequently, I moved out.”
Atiku has yet to make any public statement on the issue as of the time of filing this report.
Also, efforts to get his aides to react to the claims made by Jennifer failed.
Read the full statement:
For some time now, especially in the last few weeks, there has been a whole lot of rumours and in circulation about the state of my marriage to his Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri Adamawa, GCON. The stories got more vicious as they continued to circulate. I deem it necessary to defend myself against the calculated propaganda to malign my character and position me in a bad light and damage my name. Without resorting to nonsensical talk, I would address the two key issues at hand:
(1) That I asked for a divorce because His Excellency got married again.
(2) That I sold his Excellency’s house in Dubai.
That I asked for a divorce because His Excellency got married again
• On June. 26, 2021, I asked His Excellency to grant me a divorce in light of the breakdown of our marriage. And, during that period, I told his Excellency that I remain at his Excellency’s service to continue to assist him in his activities even If I am no longer married to him. Suffice it to say that several friends of his Excellency tried to mediate in this matter. I thank them most graciously and remain grateful for their efforts, Peter Okocha, Senator Ben Obi, Tunde Ayeni, Captain Yahaya, and Senator Ben Bruce.
• The core reason for the divorce was disagreement over my continued stay in the United Kingdom, to look after my children and several other long-standing issues. I needed to play the role of a mother at this time to the children who have gone through the absence of both father and mother growing up; especially, with the passage of my elder sister who used to look after them. Furthermore, in light of COVID times, choosing to stay with the children was nonnegotiable. And, in line with Northern culture, the new wife takes up the baton so I can also focus on giving the kids more care.
• Despite not informing us officially according to northern/Islamic culture, I knew about his Excellency’s new wife from the time Excellency was dating her and when his Excellency eventually married her. I have graciously invited our new wife to my son’s wedding in Dubai in 2018 without any ill feelings and congratulated his Excellency when our new wife put to bed.
• I was already aware that His Excellency had gotten married to our new wife but that did not deter me from supporting His Excellency and indeed, we went through a most rigorous electioneering campaign and garnered massive support for his election in 2019.
That His Excellency married a new wife was never the cause of our problem as many have said. His Excellency is a Moslem and I have never questioned him about his wives or intended.
I hope this brings this issue to rest as I did not leave the house because of his new marriage.
The PUNCH