The All Progressives Congress (APC), has declared that its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, cannot be stampeded into showing Nigerians his certificate of medical fitness to candidates of other political parties.
The ruling party insisted that the only condition that will propel him to do so will be if other parties’ candidates especially Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, do so.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, who made the declaration while appearing on a television programme, emphasised that the party can have conversation about Tinubu’s body being old or aged but noted that his mind is still very fit.
“Our candidate, Bola Tinubu is as fit as anyone. I am not saying this to be political. For the purpose of this discussion, you have raised the question of his health. From my knowledge, even though I am not a medical doctor, from observing him, from being around him, engaging with him, and many times over the last few months that I have been at the campaign council, in meetings with him and observing him meeting with others, his schedule will make anyone else, who think they are as fit as fiddle, to actually get dizzy.
“Who says that the older you are, the more vulnerable or the quicker you are to the grave? Who says that? That is the assumption I find a bit disturbing. Because the fellow is an elderly person, therefore he is going to kick the bucket.
“My point is that there is no assumption that should inform our conversation around those who compete. I don’t know of any candidate in this election who has offered us their own medical records. Even the younger ones among them, no one has done that. I am not privy to that and I have not seen anyone,” he argued.
Asked why Tinubu should not start his campaign since the APC is the ruling party, the NPS, said: “Yes, but Atiku Abukabar should start it. Peter Obi may start it. Anyone else may start it. It doesn’t mean that because we are a ruling party, therefore, the initiative to start it must come from us.”
“Because that also played into this whole narrative that a particular candidate may have something about himself that should concern us. I rejected that because that doesn’t support my observation and is certainly not supported by natural occurrences. The people who are younger may even be sicker,” he argued.
He also defended the exclusion of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, from the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), stressing that he will still be part of the campaign.
“My good friend the Vice President has not disappeared. And I am quite sure that in between his responsibility, the vice president, he will contribute and lend his voice, prestige, and authority, to the campaign of our party. I have no doubt about that. But I don’t think we need to make or think too much of the campaign council’s needs”, he said.
