Why I missed presidential debate – Buhari

Of the five candidates who were supposed to partake in the exercise, Buhari was the only one who was absent at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, venue of the exercise, on Saturday.

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), had withdrawn from the debate, citing the absence of Buhari.

While describing his absence as a slight on Nigerians, Atiku had challenged the president to another debate,

But speaking through Festus Keyamo, spokesman of his campaign, Buhari said “the busy and hectic official and campaign schedules of Mr. President clashed with this programme”.

He dismissed the reports that Buhari’s absence was deliberate, explaining that “our presidential candidate has taken full advantage of another town-hall meeting organized by another group which held on Wednesday, January 16, 2019”

“Today, Mr. President commissioned the Baro Inland Water Port in Niger State and campaigned in Niger and Plateau States where his time was over-stretched by the tumultuous and mammoth crowds in both States, (as seen by Nigerians on live television) and only returned to Abuja late this evening,” Keyamo said.

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“We note the statement of the candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who actually came for the event and left the venue when he did not see Mr. President, who is our candidate. According to him, he would not want to “attack” Mr. President in his absence.

According to him, the PDP and its presidential candidate has demonstrated that the election is all about attacking the person and programmes of President Buhari and not about proffering their own solutions to the problems they created during their sixteen years of misrule, maladministration and looting of the nation’s resources.

“When they cannot see President Buhari to attack, the content of their campaign becomes hollow, empty and “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. Now that Atiku Abubakar had a unique opportunity to explain to Nigerians his own vision and mission without a President Buhari in the picture, he ran away. Afterall, he has his own eight years of crass and grand corruption as Vice President to defend before the Nigerian people.