The announcement of the Director General of Obidatti campaign organization, Chief Doyin Okupe, that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will not attend presidential debates for candidates has attracted reactions from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Reno Omokri.
Newsonline reports that Doyin Okupe in a statement said the former governor of Anambra state will no longer attend presidential debates in which vice-presidential candidates are sent to represent presidential candidates.
A statement released by Oseloka Obaze read in part, “at the Town Hall, Arise TV management broke their own ground rules and shifted the goalpost in the middle of the game.”
It added, “a presidential town hall/debate means exactly that in letter and spirit. We will call a press conference to state that the LP candidate won’t attend mixed debates.”
READ ALSO: Lagos 2023: APC Fumes As Funke Storms Ojo Market, Women Rejoice (Video)
Reacting to the statement, Festus Keyamo, the spokesman for the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign organization mocked the Labour Party and its candidate, stating they lacked experience.
According to Keyamo, “Hahahaha. All of a sudden, it is now about the presence of Bola Tinubu. I thought it was all about talking to the Nigerian people directly. What an experienced man can see whilst sitting down, an inexperienced man will not see from the top of an Iroko Tree!”
Recall that Keyamo had on Sunday released a statement on why the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu would not attend the Arise TV town hall meeting.
Festus Keyamo, who is Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment said Tinubu will not attend media interviews because of busy schedules.
A former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, also slammed the Labour Party and Peter Obi, stating no the love for Nigerians but competition against Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Tinubu was the driving force for the former governor of Anambra’s media interviews.
Reno wrote on his Twitter handle, “when Peter Obi says he will no longer attend any debate that Waziri Atiku and Tinubu do not attend, he is inevitably saying that he is in this race only because he wants to rub shoulders with Atiku and Tinubu, not because of Nigerians. That is very reactionary!”
“Question for Peter Obi: Are you going to these debates for the benefit of Waziri Atiku and Tinubu, or are you going for the benefit of Nigerians? Obi has just shown that he a follower of Atiku and Tinubu. Where they go, he goes. Where they don’t go doesn’t go!” Reno asked.
