By Dirisu Yakubu and Deborah Tolu-Kolawole
Spokesmen of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, faulted claims that the former vice president is sick and had been flown abroad for medical attention.
Atiku’s media adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, said the PDP candidate will on Monday (today) arrives in London, even as he dismissed the report of ill health.
Taking to his Twitter handle, @omonlakiki, Ibe said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the presidential candidate of the PDP and former Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) will be arriving in London on Monday, January 9 for meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday on the invitation of the British Government.”
Also speaking, Director, Strategic Communications, National Election Management Committee of the PDP Campaign Council, Chief Dele Momodu, urged Nigerians to ignore the report of Atiku’s alleged ill-health in its entirety “because it is completely false.”
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, Momodu said, “The man went on vacation. Anyone who knows him can tell you that the man (Atiku) does not joke about his vacation. He went to Dubai from where he would be leaving for London on Monday (today). When he arrived in Dubai, I was the first person he spoke with. I was in Turkey at the time. The report is the joke of the year. How can a man who is hale and hearty be flown out?”
A spokesman of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, Senator Dino Melaye, also dismissed the report as he urged Nigerians to “disregard the lies of unrepentant liars. Atiku is 100 per cent fit and in super form, health-wise. The British government invited the leading presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, just like that they had invited Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi earlier.”
Nigeria’s future
Meanwhile, Atiku on Sunday said the forthcoming election is about the future of the country.
In a newsletter obtained by The PUNCH in Abuja, the former vice-president urged Nigerians to “right all the wrongs” of the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “The 2023 general election is few weeks away. We must remind ourselves that this election is about the future of Nigeria. It is an opportunity for us as Nigerians to right all the wrongs that the ruling APC has brought upon us.
“While we exercise our mandate in the upcoming elections, it is necessary that we reflect properly about the scorecards of both the PDP and the APC. We must avoid being overwhelmed by the deceptions of the ruling party. Indeed, we must vote to punish the APC for their poor performance since they came to the saddle in 2015.”
Source: The Punch
