A spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council Femi Fani-Kayode has said the party’s presidential candidate Bola Tinubu was not obligated to honour the invitation to speak at Chatham House in London.
Tinubu, on Monday, made an appearance at Chatham House where he revealed some of his plans for major sectors like defence, economy, education, and technology.
Mr Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, said during Friday’s edition of Channels TV’s Politics Today that Tinubu’s appearance at the forum was only to fulfill the tradition of presidential candidates, not an obligation.
At the forum, Tinubu delegated some of his allies, including serving governors and lawmakers, to answer questions posed by participants.
Some of those who answered questions on Tinubu’s behalf include the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi; APC national women’s leader, Betta Edu; and former commissioner for finance in Lagos, Wale Edun.
Fani-Kayode maintained that being in a foreign land where he was not obliged to answer questions in any particular format, Tinubu chose to answer some himself and delegated others to his associates.
“He was proving to the world that Nigeria has not only capable leaders like himself but also capable disciples, those with him at Chatham House and back here in Nigeria that would form part of his inner circle and his team when he forms government, and I am very proud of that.
“For people to assume that he cannot answer simply because he delegated, he had an interview with the BBC and he acquainted himself exceptionally well and to the fundamental questions, he didn’t delegate anybody to answer for him, he spoke well, he spoke clearly,”he said.
