THE Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation has admonished President Muhammadu Buhari that allow- ing himself to be dragged into the presidential campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may tarnish his image, knowing the various allegations dogging Bola Tinubu, the standard-bearer of the party.
A statement issued on Saturday by Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesperson of the main opposition party campaign, mocked the former Lagos governor for seeking to draft the Buhari into his campaign with the aim of using the president “to launder his stained image.”
Recall that the APC presidential campaign had announced that President Buhari had agreed to campaign for the ruling party in 10 states of the federation.
However, the Atiku/Okowa Campaign said, “It is indeed ludicrous that Tinubu, who is badgered with narcotic and many corruption allegations and stains, is now seeking President Buhari’s presence in his campaign after he had boastfully claimed that he (President Buhari) had no political relevance and could not become president until he (Tinubu) came to his rescue.
“Nigerians watched as Tinubu’s publicly derided, scorned and disparaged President Buhari and even demonstrated how, according to him, President Buhari cried after losing election thrice until he (Tinubu) picked him up, wiped his tears and made him president.
“Nigerians are, therefore, wondering what roles Tinubu, who disparaged Buhari as not having political weight, now wants President Buhari to play in the campaign for which he is forcefully dragging him to the arena, if not to smear the pres- ident with his putrid stains.
“Nigerians are wondering what President Buhari, with his professed aversion to corruption and drug related issues, will be saying while presenting Tinubu to the electorate in rallies, if he ever does.
“Will President Buhari be explaining to Nigerians the link the APC presidential candidate had with narcotics for which a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States of America ordered the forfeiture of a gargantuan sum of $460,000 found in Tinubu’s account as proceeds of illicit transactions?”
Having agreed to join the Tinubu campaign, the Atiku/ Okowa Campaign wondered whether President Buhari will now apologise for the executions of three drug convicts during under his administration as military head of state at which time he was seen to have zero tolerance for drug- related crimes.
“Will Buhari be apologising to Nigerians for approving, as a military Head of State, the execution of a set of Nigerians for a drug-related offence only to now be presenting some- one that forfeited money in a narcotic-related matter as president of Nigeria?
“Does President Buhari have answers to the malodorous issues of perjury, certificate forgery and inconsistencies in age, educational qualification and ancestry that are plaguing Tinubu or has President Buhari any explanation on who Tinubu’s classmate were at the Government College, Ibadan or at the non-existent Aroloya primary school?
“Will President Buhari provide explanation for how the picture of former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, was stolen and used to fraudulently depict Tinubu as a bright young man in APC Presidential Campaign documentary?
“It has become clear that Asiwaju Tinubu, who does not believe in President Buhari’s political currency and relevance is dragging President Buhari into his deflated campaign as a decoy to transfer his corruption and criminal allegation burdens on Mr. President.
“It is however imperative that the APC Presidential candidate should know that it is too late in the day to stage such a political stunt given that his image has gone beyond redemption.”
