The war of words between the camps of presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, appears far from over as the latter has declared the former Lagos state governor, unfit for the Office of the President.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council, through its Media Director, Bayo Onanuga, had first urged Atiku to clear the air on his alleged ill health while also calling on him to quit the presidential race over alleged corrupt practices while in office as Vice President.
In its reaction, the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation in a statement signed by its spokesman, Kola Ologbodiyan, took a swipe at Tinubu over what it called “his failed attempt to impute illness on the healthy and energetic presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.”
The campaign organisation also said the Tinubu’s camp failed “to impugn the impeccable character and integrity of the incoming peoples’ President, Atiku.”
The statement read in part, “It is imperative to observe that our campaign had focused on issues and refrained from Tinubu’s appalling health issues prior to this ignoble public dance of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign.
“However, since Tinubu by himself has opened the channels for Nigerians to examine his ill-health, we have no other option than to further expose that the APC candidate must be suffering from manifest Parkinson’s disease accompanied with incontinence.
“For clarity, Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder which symptoms include shaking hands, stiffness of limbs, difficulty with coordination, problem with balance when walking; articulation disorder, memory problems as well as general mental and physical weakness which are all being witnessed in the APC presidential candidate.
“This perhaps accounts for the desperation, the endless gaffes, the articulation errors, the incoherence, the many blunders, and disconnection from reality for which Asiwaju Tinubu has become the butt of weird jokes among Nigerians and internationally.
“It is rather unfortunate that the APC presidential candidate, who cannot stand erect or walk up an elevation unaided, who is plagued by visible tremor of the hands, who palpitates at the slightest physical exertion and who is reported in the public space as being challenged by incontinence could attempt to speak on the health status of any Nigerian.
“Moreover, some medical professionals have associated certain cases of nerve cell death with narcotic use and unhealthy lifestyle and our campaign urges Tinubu to examine himself in that regard.
“Furthermore, Nigerians find it incongruous that the tarnished Asiwaju Tinubu who is badgered by alleged looting of Lagos state treasury and stripping of her property; cases of forgery, impersonation, perjury, inconsistencies in name, age as well as questionable educational background, ancestry and genealogy could attempt to speak on corruption and integrity.
“Asiwaju Tinubu should rather hide his face in shame given his malodourous activities for which well-meaning Nigerians have dissociated themselves from his presidential campaign.
“In any case, Nigerians are aware that Tinubu is not ethically, physically and mentally fit to hold office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, unlike the decent, honest, physically, mentally and emotionally fit Atiku Abubakar, who exhibits the manifest readiness, intellectual alertness, capacity and experience to lead our nation at this critical time.
“Those pushing emi lokan’s candidature cannot claim to be unaware that he is not fit to preside over a country of 200 million people.”