Director-general of the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation Doyin Okupe on Monday said the presidential candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi will no longer attend debates if his counterparts in other parties do not show up.
Obi’s decision comes hours after two major presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu did not attend the presidential town hall meeting organised by Arise TV and others on Sunday in Abuja.
Atiku was represented by his running mate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa while Tinubu did not have any representative.
Obi clashed with a spokesman for Atiku’s campaign Dino Melaye at the event.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Okupe said Obi would no longer debate with surrogates or running mates and would back out of any debate even at the last minute should other presidential candidates fail to show up.
Okupe said “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.”
He said this stand was 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 the 2023 elections.
