Arise: This Is The Last Time Peter Obi Will Be Involved In Such An Event – Labour Party Blows Hot

The Labour Party (LP) has berated the presidential candidates who failed to show up at the town hall meeting organised by Arise/CDD on Sunday.

The party, during a press conference held by the Director General of the Obi/Datti presidential council, Doyin Okupe, berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, and his All Progressives Congress ( APC) counterpart, Bola Tinubu for shunning the debate.

Naija News recalls that the LP flag bearer, Peter Obi, joined his counterparts of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Musa Kwankwaso and Peoples Redemption Party ( PRP) Kola Abiola, at the event held on Sunday evening in Abuja.

The Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa, represented Atiku at the event.

The absence of Tinubu and Atiku had annoyed stalwarts of other parties, who demanded that their presidential candidates leave the event in order not to speak on the same podium with Okowa.

The protest stalled the take- off of the event for over an hour.

But the LP felt cheated at the development, warning that any debate or town hall meeting that would be called must not be a mixed one otherwise its presidential candidate will opt out.

Okupe argued that a growing trend of irresponsibility, arrogance and disregard for the electorate,” has “gone beyond coincidence, and is at risk of becoming the norm.”

He recounted how Tinubu had missed the 22 August 2022 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association and instead sent his running mate, Kashim Shettima, while other top contenders invited to the event attended.

He also explained that Tinubu skipped the September 13 and 14, 2022, event of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lagos and several attempts have been unsuccessful for him to appear. Instead, he organised similar events of his own.

He said, “The decision to present oneself as a Presidential candidate does not start and end with the purchase, submission of forms and certification as a candidate by INEC.

“It also forebodes on the candidate a high degree of responsibility to present himself for open discussions and explanations on his policies, visions and plans for the people to enable a better understanding and engender an appropriate choice by the electorate in the coming elections.

“It is our firm conviction that anything short of the simple, transparent and honest adherence to this basic contract of responsibility, falls short of the standards of fair contest and engagement and can only be interpreted as mischievous evasion of the desired interface with the people.”

Okupe wondered why some presidential candidate should feel they are doing the electorate a favor by appearing in person in a scheduled program which he insisted are part of the election process.

The former media aide to President Goodluck Jonathan added that “To add insult to injury, yesterday at the Arise TV Townhall Meeting, the Vice Presidential candidate who purported to represent his Presidential Candidate, sought to explain his presence under the obnoxious pretext that the ‘Presidency is one.’

“This is a blatant lie and to say the least a deceptive attempt to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians.

“The Joint Ticket in a presidential election, and in a substantive Presidency, is a constitutional provision for temporary or permanent substitution, where the Presidential candidate is primarily incapacitated or otherwise critically unavailable..

“Finally, Let us make it clear today, that these recurring acts will no longer be acceptable to the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation.

“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.”