Spokespersons for HDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar on Sunday slammed allegations that the former vice president is ill and has been flown abroad for medical care.
Even as he denied the report of ill health, Atiku’s media adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe, said that on Monday (today) the PDP candidate will arrive in London.
Addressing his Twitter account, @omonlakiki, Ibe said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the PDP Presidential Candidate and Former Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) will arrive in London on Monday 9 January for meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of the British Government.”
Also speaking, the Director of Strategic Communications, National Election Management Committee of the PDP Campaign Council, President Dilly Momodu, urged Nigerians to ignore the entire report of Atiku’s ill health “because it is completely false”.
In a phone conversation with our reporter, Momodu said, “The man went on vacation. Anyone who knows him can tell you that the man (Atiku) is not joking about his vacation. He went to Dubai from where he is leaving for London on Monday (today). When he arrived in Dubai, I was the first person he spoke to. I was in Turkey at the time. The report is the joke of the year. How can a healthy and hearty man be expelled?”
A spokesperson for the Atiku/Okwa Presidential Campaign Organisation, Senator Dino Miley, also dismissed the report as urging Nigerians to “ignore the lies of unrepentant liars. Atiku is 100 percent fit and in excellent shape and healthy.” The British government has invited the leading presidential candidate, Atiku Abo Firstborn, just as Paula Tinubu and Peter Obi called earlier.”
The future of Nigeria
On the other hand, Atiku said on Sunday that the upcoming elections are about the future of the country.
In a newsletter obtained by The PUNCH in Abuja, the former Vice President urged Nigerians to “correct all the wrongs” of the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “The general elections of 2023 are just a few weeks away. We must remind ourselves that this election is about the future of Nigeria. It is an opportunity for us as Nigerians to right all the wrongs that the ruling APC party has brought us.
“As we exercise our mandate in the upcoming elections, it is essential that we properly consider the scorecards of both the PDP and the APC. We must avoid falling into the clutches of deception of the ruling party. In fact, we must vote to punish the APC for its poor performance since they came to the saddle in 2015″.