November 07, (THEWILL) – The Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) said its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would henceforth, boycott any debate where other presidential candidates are absent or represented by their running mates or surrogates.
Peter Obi is the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the 2023 elections.
Recall that at the town hall meeting held in Abuja on Sunday, the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar were absent.
While the running mate to Tinubu, Kashim Shettima was absent, his PDP counterpart and Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, represented Atiku.
Obi had joined his counterparts of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Musa Kwankwaso and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Kola Abiola, at the event.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Director General of the Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe, said Obi will no longer debate with surrogates or running mates and will back out of any debate even at the last minute should other presidential candidates fail to show up.
He pointed out that Tinubu had missed the 22 August 2022 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association and instead sent his running mate, Kashim Shettima, while other top contenders invited to the event attended.
Okukpe further noted that Tinubu skipped the September 13 and 14, 2022, event of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lagos and several attempts have been unsuccessful for him to appear. Instead, he organised similar events of his own.
He “condemns this disregard for the electorate and the people, by these absentee Presidential Candidates.
“The decision to present oneself as a Presidential candidate does not start and end with the purchase, submission of forms and certification as a candidate by INEC.
“It also forebodes on the candidate a high degree of responsibility to present himself for open discussions and explanations on his policies, visions and plans for the people to enable a better understanding and engender an appropriate choice by the electorate in the coming elections.
“It is our firm conviction that anything short of the simple, transparent and honest adherence to this basic contract of responsibility, falls short of the standards of fair contest and engagement and can only be interpreted as mischievous evasion of the desired interface with the people.
“These candidates who have assumed the position of emperors and rulers, and not responsible politicians, who are willing to serve and listen to the people, place their position of trust in critical jeopardy by their high horse of arrogance and non-accountability.
“For the avoidance of doubt, His Excellency Peter Obi is prepared at any appointed time, to engage the Nigerian people on his mission and vision for the people and country whom he seeks to lead competently and responsibly.”
“To add insult to injury, yesterday at the Arise TV Townhall Meeting, the Vice Presidential candidate who purported to represent his Presidential Candidate, sought to explain his presence under the obnoxious pretext that the ‘Presidency is one.’
“This is a blatant lie and to say the least a deceptive attempt to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.
“The Joint Ticket in a presidential election, and in a substantive Presidency, is a constitutional provision for temporary or permanent substitution, where the Presidential candidate is primarily incapacitated or otherwise critically unavailable.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the onus and the duty of presenting his position, vision, policies and plans and responding to questions therefrom, is the responsibility of the presidential candidate, in first person, including the fact of being held accountable for his presentation.
“It is the primary duty of care and response that cannot be relegated, delegated or avoided, as a matter of deception or evasion, as it encompasses the right of the people to full and total knowledge of what the candidate has in stock for them.
“With every respect to the office of the Vice Presidential candidate, this is a duty reserved for the person of each and every presidential candidate.
“We firmly and irrevocably call on the Nigerian people in entirety, to reject any presidential candidate that habitually and deceptively treats the rights of the people to hear directly from him, with disrespect, dishonour and ignominy.
“Finally, Let us make it clear today, that these recurring acts will no longer be acceptable to the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation.
“While our Candidate Mr Peter Obi and our Vice Presidential Candidate Dr Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, are prepared at all times to engage other candidates, and the Nigerian people, in any duly scheduled debates, Town Hall meetings and any other appearances as designated and scheduled.
“This election season, they will only be prepared to mount the podium, with their peers in this presidential race, and not with any surrogates or diversionary delegated representation.
“This stand is taken with the utmost respect for the rights and desires of Nigerians to full and direct information, and first-hand responses and presentations, necessary for the best assessment of worthiness, capacity, capability, competence, character, integrity and disposition, as required to make the right choice in these coming elections.”
