The verbal war between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party Atiku Abubakar and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Bola Ahmed Tinubu festered yesterday with the Atiku challenging the latter to an hour long television interview.
Atiku had in a television interview on Thursday, said he fall out with Tinubu in 2007 because he rejected his Muslim- Muslim ticket proposal. But Tinubu’s Campaign Organisation, in its reaction, said Atiku was flippant and unprepared for the highest job of the land.
Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, in a statement yesterday, said Tinubu’s response was expected but added that the APC presidential candidate could not “articulate and mentally present” his views in an hour long interview as Atiku did.
“Mr. Tinubu has not sat down to do any prolonged interview for obvious reasons. Nigerians have seen him talk in public and can themselves gauge the reason why he is mortified to do so. “Until then, we will only want to remind him and his ‘yes men’ that they are not in a position to point fingers when they have not sat on the hot seat,” he said.
Ibe also reacted to the issues raised by Tinubu campaign organisation, especially as regards to Atiku engaging in a side business while he served in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). He denied that such was a breach of the law, arguing that: “Nigeria is not under a military regime” and the nation’s ‘Constitutions are not retroactive in nature.”
Ibe equally said Atiku obtained his Master degree from Anglia Ruskin University, a known university, and challenged “any of the present presidential candidates to present an equal or higher degree. “Moreover, his university attendance is a matter of verified record. Can we say the same about some other persons?”