Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has dismissed his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, and his party as jittery, saying they know he would win next year’s presidential election. Tinubu’s views were contained in a statement by Director, Special Media Projects and New Media, Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of APC, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.
The comments came as Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong told a town hall meeting in Jos that the APC presidential candidate and former governor of Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos was the best person to lead Nigeria at this moment in its history.
At the same time, National Youth Leader of APC, Mr. Israel Dayo, yesterday, in Jos, the Plateau State capital, assured Tinubu of victory, while calling on youths in the state to vote massively for the party’s candidates in the 2023 general election.
PCC said in the statement by Fani-Kayode that it was based on Tinubu’s approval rating that the main opposition party resorted to falsehood and constant tirades about Tinubu’s health and age.
Fani-Kayode, while reacting to a statement by a spokesperson of the PDP campaign council, Senator Dino Melaye, on Tinubu’s health, insisted that compared to Atiku, Tinubu was as fit as a fiddle.
Fani-Kayode alleged that unlike the former vice president, Tinubu “has nothing to hide and has no skeletons in his cupboard.” Atiku cannot come anywhere near Asiwaju in terms of his mental or physical virility or acumen. Whether mentally, physically or spiritually, Atiku is very far behind.”
Fani-Kayode stressed that no matter what they said about Tinubu, he had never betrayed those that helped him to power. “He is loyal to his own to a fault, whilst Atiku does not know the meaning of the word,” the APC spokesman said.
He stated that Atiku was trying to give the impression that he was part and parcel of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s successes as president, when in actual fact, he was trying to frustrate that government’s efforts to improve the lives of the people, saying such a person cannot be trusted with power.
Fani-Kayode stated, “Atiku and his camp know that Jagaban will win this election hands down and as each day passes, it is getting clearer. That is why they are so jittery. That is why they resort to nothing but falsehood, insults and abuse. That is why the only thing they talk about is Jagaban’s health and age.
“We want a campaign that centres on issues, but Atiku and his friends do not even know the meaning of the word. His team are ignorant, uncouth, disrespectful and utterly primitive and nothing reflects or manifests that more than the vituperations and asinine contributions of his garrulous, thuggish and undisciplined spokesmen.”
Meanwhile, speaking at a town hall meeting in Jos, Lalong said Tinubu had proven himself beyond reasonable doubt.
Lalong, who was represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Dung Daylyop, said Tinubu’s wealth of experience was what the country needed to navigate the curve where it had found itself. The governor said, “Tinubu is the only politician, who left office in 2007 and remains relevant in every progressive discussion in the country. Tinubu is not just the Jagaban of the South-west, but the entire Nigeria.”
On his part, Dayo promised to work hand-in-hand with party members, especially, the youth, to ensure victory for the party in the 2023 general election. He lauded the youth in the state for their support, and revealed that the youth wing of the party had commenced grassroots mobilisation and door-to-door campaign to deliver the APC presidential candidate and other candidates of the party in the coming elections.
Dayo also said the youth were convinced of Tinubu’s track record and ability to tackle the myriad problems Nigeria faced.
He stated, “Tinubu has lifted many people up and it is time for the people to lift him up to become president. That is why we must make it a duty to work and deliver our polling units, local government areas, and state for Tinubu.
“If they tell you that he is not young, tell them he is a friend of the youth. If we vote him, we will be better for it because he has assisted many to heights they never imagined.
“We are counting on you; we have a choice before us and that choice is Tinubu.”
Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
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