The presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu on Sunday night, denied speculations about his health and declared that he was not only hale and hearty, but also ready to serve Nigeria.
The inaugural meeting of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) is scheduled to hold on Tuesday.
The rumour about Tinubu’s allegedly deteriorating health and even death started last week following his inability to attend the peace accord signing ceremony in Abuja.
Tinubu was conspicuously absent at the exercise undertaken by all other presidential candidates. The vice presidential candidate of the ruling party and former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, represented Tinubu at the event.
But Tinubu, who appeared in a video lasting just seven seconds on Sunday, which was posted on his verified twitter handle and the Facebook of Tinubu Support Group (TSG), was seen riding a spinning bike.
Tinubu tweeted, “Many have said I have died; others claimed I have withdrawn from the presidential race. Well…nope. This is the reality: I am strong, I am healthy and I am ready to serve Nigeria from day one.”
APC had initially scheduled a Peace Walk and Prayers for September 28, to officially kick off campaigns for the 2023 presidential election and other activities, but it was put off indefinitely. This was after Tinubu jetted out of the country to London, following the release of the list of the 422-member campaign council, which plunged the ruling party into a crisis.
Curiously, the campaign list was immediately disowned by members of the National Working Committee (NWC), who frowned on the release of the names without recourse to the leadership of the party.
That was followed by a leaked letter purportedly written by the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, to Tinubu, demanding withdrawal of the 422-member campaign list.
Adamu had in the letter warned that any sign of disarray in the party would undermine the spirit and ethos of the campaign and give undue alarm to members and followers of the party across the country.
But as the controversy continued, Adamu, in another statement by the national publicity secretary of the party, Mr. Felix Morka, said the letter for withdrawal of the campaign list did not emanate from him.
Nevertheless, APC decided to expand membership of the council to over 2,000 to accommodate all interests and prevent the party from drifting as the February 28 presidential election approached.
Sources told THISDAY that the inaugural PCC meeting, involving all directors and PCC leaders in all the states of the federation, had been scheduled to hold on Tuesday, barring any last minute changes.
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
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