You can’t force me into media debates, appearances – Tinubu replies Atiku, Peter Obi

The presidential candidates of the ruling parties

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has lashed out at his rivals the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi for faulting his absence at the presidential Townhall meeting organized by Arise TV on Sunday night.

Tinubu said that media appearances and debates are not part of the design for his campaign while noting the town hall meeting held at Transcorps as poorly organised.

This was made known in a statement issued through his Bayo Onanuga, Director Media and Publicity on Monday, November 7.

The former Lagos State governor insisted that he would not be “railroaded” appearances in the media or debates.

The statement partly 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.”

NBA