NBA dialogue: Presidential candidates kick as Tinubu sends representative

January 31, 2023
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

Candidates in the forthcoming presidential election yesterday protested against the decision of the flag-bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, to send a representative at a state of the nation dialogue that was convened by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.

Tinubu, who was absent at the event, briefed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Hassan Liman, to speak on his behalf.

Liman, SAN, who is a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, had after all the other presidential candidates took their seats to speak on how they intend to tackle the current security, economic and political challenges facing the nation, mounted the stage to stand in place of the APC candidate.

His action however drew the irk of the other candidates, especially that of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, Mr. Daniel Nwanyanwu, who maintained that it was wrong to allow a non presidential candidate to speak at the forum.

“I thank the NBA for this invitation, but I believe that the intendment was not for any presidential candidate to and any one to come and represent him to speak with other presidential candidates.

“I cancelled all my appointments to be here. I don’t think that it will be right for us to have a placeholder for anyone. Nigeria is no t growing simply because we are not obeying rules. You have a right to come or not to come.

"I am only going ahead to speak here because of the respect I have for the NBA as a body”, Nwanyanwu fumed.

On his plans, the ZLP candidate said his administration will deploy technology to tackle the issue of insecurity, insisting that there are many ungoverned spaces in the country that ought to be secured.

“Today people are killed, raped and nothing happens. Insecurity is all over the country and every part is feeling it. I will have a total overhaul of the entire security architecture”, he stated, adding, “we have to unite the country and build trust”.

When he was called to speak, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, equally took a swipe at the APC flag-bearer over his absence at the dialogue session.

He said: “You can see that those of us that are present here today are the real candidates.

“At least you can judge for yourselves whether some of us will fall asleep so that you can compare us with the old candidates”.

Ishilove:
Anyone who supports Tinubu needs to have his head examined. The old man is suffering from early stage dementia and needs to be somewhere comfortable living out the rest of his blighted old age in as much dignity as possible. His handlers will keep dodging debates because they know he will make an absolute fool of himself, so no one should expect any interactive session from that quarter.

Only in Nigeria... What an absolute disgrace.

Ishilove:
Anyone who supports Tinubu needs to have his head examined. The old man is suffering from early stage dementia and needs to be somewhere comfortable living out the rest of his blighted old age in as much dignity as possible. His handlers will keep dodging debates because they know he will make an absolute fool of himself, so no one should expect any interactive session from that quarter.

Only in Nigeria... What an absolute disgrace.