The Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was engaging in diversionary tactics having come to terms that its defeat was imminent in the February poll.
Phrank Shaibu, a special media assistant to the presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar, had in a statement challenged the presidential candidate of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to make his real name and early education known.
However, the Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga described the latest allegation as another attempt at shadowboxing.
He said if only the PDP would go back to its records, it would have realised that the same reckless campaign of calumny was its stock in trade in the governorship campaigns in Lagos State in 2003.
Onanuga noted that it had also been a subject of investigations by the Lagos State House of Assembly, adding that in the 2003 elections, the masses in Lagos punished the PDP for its malicious campaign and rejected the party massively at the polling booths.
He stressed that it was unfortunate that the party and its presidential candidate have chosen to revive a dead allegation, knowing that this election was again slipping away.
Onanuga stated: “In another puerile move, Shuaibu challenged our candidate to give his full name and went on a journey of fantasy about his early education and parentage, matters already thrown into the dustbin decades ago.
“We were not surprised that the desperate Atiku camp, faced with mounting setbacks in its campaign, will engage in another round of mudslinging after it failed to make any capital over its amplified allegation of drug dealing against our candidate.”
Onanuga pointed out that with the massive turnout of the Nigerian people to welcome Tinubu in Kaduna, Minna, Abuja and other parts of Nigeria in the last one week, it was obvious that they are running after a train that has left the station.
According to him, The Constitution of the Republic is very clear on the rights of a citizen to contest for president. “Our candidate has fulfilled those conditions. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the impartial umpire, has affirmed that he is qualified to run,” he stated.
