Tinubu Says Presidential Town Hall Meeting Poorly Organised, Slams Atiku, Obi
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,has defended his decision to snub the presidential town ha meeting organised by Arise TV on Sunday.
Tinubu was absent at the debate attended by his counterparts in the Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples Party, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso respectively.
While the event was holding, Tinubu was in the same Abuja attending a birthday party staged for the father of Niger State Governor, Sani Bello.
Defending his absence st the town hall meeting, Tinubu described it as “poorly organized”.
The former governor of Lagos also berated the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and that of the Labour Party LP, Mr Peter Obi, saying their presidential ambitions were dead on arrival.
This he did in a statement titled “PDP and LP are confused” and signed by Mr Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
The statement read; “We read with amusement the ridiculous position of Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council and that of Labour Party/Peter Obi on the absence of our presidential candidate, Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu, from the poorly organized Town Hall debate session by Arise TV.
“The separate press releases from these two dead-on-arrival presidential campaign offices sought to make an issue out of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s well-thought-out decision to follow his own campaign plan.
“The more absurd of the two positions was the one canvassed by the spokesperson of Atiku/Okowa campaign. The PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar didn’t also attend Arise News Town Hall Meeting.
“Yet his spokesman, out of joblessness and lack of productive venture attacked our candidate, perhaps in pursuit of a media mileage that their campaign badly needs to divert attention from their failing presidential bid.
“We believe that even a palace jester should have a moment of self introspection. If this had been done, the statement would have been unnecessary.
“Instead of PDP to tell Nigerians why its presidential candidate has not returned to Nigeria after their purposeless visit to United States where he and his other 15 peripatetic adults were given a cold shoulder by US senior officials, the spokesperson is busy chasing shadows.
“We want to state again for the attention of both PDP and LP, that Asiwaju Tinubu will not be railroaded into media appearances and debates.
“Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima have their campaign schedule that they are following and they have been holding conversations with Nigerians at Town Hall meetings and other fora.
“The Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council has clearly made its position on debates known in a statement issued by our Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN and that position remains.
“We recognize that both PDP and LP have to use Asiwaju Tinubu’s name with the hope that their floundering campaign will gain some traction. Nigerians witnessed the show of shame and despicable exchange on live television between, Mr. Peter Obi, the candidate of LP and Dino Melaye, one of Atiku-Okowa’s palace jesters.
“Nigerians will certainly not vote for candidates and political parties that cannot maintain decorum and basic decency on national television
