The All Progressives Congress Campaign Council has explained the absence of its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, saying the debate clashed with his engagements.
The campaign council’s clarification is coming in the wake of Tinubu’s absence at a live presidential debate held at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
Tinubu’s counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who was said to be on his way from Morocco, was, however, represented by his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
Recall that the Centre for Democracy and Development, had invited the four leading presidential candidates in the 2023 elections to speak on their plans for the country.
The debate, which was aired live on Arise Television, was meant to allow Nigerians to ascertain which candidate and political party possessed the best ideas for bringing lasting solutions to the country’s challenges.
When contacted, the Director of Media and Communications, Bayo Onanuga,said that the debate clashed with Tinubu’s campaign town hall meeting with agro-farmers in Minna, Niger State capital.
Onanuga made reference to the APC presidential campaign calendar to justify his position.
He said, “We are in Minna now for engagement with farmers and agro-commodities groups ahead of tomorrow. The media cannot suddenly come up with a debate and wants us to drop everything we are doing to attend it. It is wrong. We also have our campaign schedule to attend to.”
