The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has justified the absence of the party presidential flagbearer Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima at the town hall meeting for presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections on Sunday.
Recall that the People’s Democratic Party [PDP] candidate, Atiku Abubakar was out of the country at the time of the meeting but was represented by his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowo while Bola Tinubu, alongside his running mate, was completely absent leaving APC unrepresented at the event.
The event which was organized by Arise Television and the Centre for Democracy and Development [CDD] saw the presence of other presidential candidates including; Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian People’s Party, and Kola Abiola of the People’s Redemption Party.
Explaining Tinubu’s Absence, the APC presidential campaign council spokesman, Festus Keyamo said Tinubu did not attend the CDD town hall meeting because he has been invited by a lot of networks and it would only be unfair if he makes selective appearances.
According to him, “The busy and hectic campaign schedules of Asiwaju Tinubu will not permit him to honour all such invitations by different radio and TV networks, hence our decision for him not to start with one TV station and later ignore others.”
“Our candidate had long before now realised the importance of speaking directly to Nigerians and shortly after unfolding his Action Plan as the president embarked on town hall meetings beginning with his interaction with the business community and other stakeholders in Kano followed by the Town Hall meeting and presentation by experts last week in Lagos,” he said.
Recall that shortly after the CDD/Arise TV town hall meeting began, a video of Tinubu, spotted at a birthday party of his associate, Rt. Colonel Sani Bello was shared online. The venue of the birthday party was an eight-minute drive from the venue of the town hall meeting.
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