The latest failure by the APC candidate was Mr. Tinubu’s decision to skip the presidential discussion held on Sunday by Arise Television and the Centre for Democracy and Development.
According to his campaign team, Bola Tinubu, the APC candidate for president of Nigeria, may not participate in any presidential debates before the election in February.
The APC candidate, Mr. Tinubu, avoided Sunday’s presidential debate hosted by Arise Television and a civic organization.
Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), responded when asked why Mr. Tinubu skipped the event on Sunday by stating that he did not go in order to prevent “selective appearance.”
In the statement released on Sunday, Mr. Keyamo explained that various television stations have expressed interest in hosting events of this nature. Mr. Tinubu, on the other hand, stated that he would rather speak with Nigerians in person than attend any events.
The candidate won’t be making selective appearances on some networks while neglecting others, he said, noting that numerous radio and TV networks in Nigeria have expressed interest in hosting such debates.
The Center for Democracy and Development and Arise Television jointly organized the debate on Sunday under the banner of the Arise News presidential town hall series.
Prior to Sunday’s failure, Mr. Tinubu had avoided similar actions by the National Association of Bar Counsel and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Kashim Shettima, Mr. Tinubu’s running mate, represented him at the NBA event, but he was not there at the debate on Sunday.
Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, was absent from the debate on Sunday, but he was represented by Ifeanyi Okowa, the former vice president’s running mate, who said that the former vice president is abroad.
The Sunday ceremony was attended in person by Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Kola Abiola of the Peoples Redemption Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Tinubu to be impartial by avoiding all discussions
The candidate cannot afford to attend one debate while avoiding others, according to Mr. Keyamo’s statement.
He added that the candidate cannot participate in the debate series because of other commitments.
He continued by saying that the candidate preferred to interact directly with voters in town hall meetings and rallies.
Millions of voters, many of whom had expressed reservations about Mr. Tinubu’s propensity for avoiding public scrutiny, are not anticipated to be pleased with his decision to skip the debates before the general election in February. Many people have criticized him on social media for missing the debate on Sunday, especially after one of the other candidates, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, made fun of him. The ruling party’s nominee, though, doesn’t seem to be bothered by the critiques.
Read Mr. Keyamo’s whole statement below.
The following are the reasons why ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU, the APC’s presidential candidate in the upcoming 2023 presidential election, chose not to participate in the presidential debate hosted by ARISE TV on November 6, 2022:
Thirdly, our candidate had long since realized the value of speaking directly to Nigerians and had begun holding Town Hall meetings soon after announcing his Action Plan as President, starting with his interactions with the business community and other stakeholders in Kano and continuing with the Town Hall meeting and expert presentation last week in Lagos.
He will speak with agricultural and commodity groups in Minna, Niger State, tomorrow.
While we appreciate the invitation from Arise TV, we want to reassure Nigerians that we would continue to value both these debating groups and Nigerians. Through other forums, Nigerians will hear from our candidate loud and clear.
Finally, out of the utmost respect for Nigerians, we implore all our party structures and grassroots supporters to continue hosting town hall meetings to inform Nigerians about the Action Plan of our candidate. We believe a grassroots strategy would also be more effective at reaching Nigerians.
