The aides of the presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are in a war of words over the latest gaffe of the APC flag bearer, Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu had his speech muddled during his mega rally at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Saturday where he mixed up the words, PVC, APC and APV.
He said over and over, “Do you love me? Do you love me? Go and take your APV, and APC and you must vote.”
The APC Presidential Campaign Council Director of Media and Publicity Bayo Onanuga, however, downplayed the embarrassing slur as a non-issue.
According to him, only an unserious party and candidate will be concerned with unimportant matters like speech slips when there are serious issues to look into.
Onanuga’s reaction followed an attack on Tinubu by the Special Assistant on Public Communications to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu.
There were also reports that a call had gone out to APC to replace Tinubu with another candidate ahead of the 2023 general election.
Shaibu, who made the call because of the APC rally gaffe, said the move was necessary in order “to avoid further embarrassing scenarios occasioned by his continued miscues and gaffes.”
He noted that “It is public knowledge that every time Tinubu has come out in public to make a statement or two, he has always goofed. If he is not saying that voter cards have an expiration date, he is saying that young Nigerians are tweeting on WhatsApp or that 50 million youths should be recruited into the Nigerian Army and be fed with cassava in the morning and agbado in the night. How can you say Nigerians are tweeting on WhatsApp? Common, is that the kind of person we want to hand 21st century Nigeria over to?
“In his latest gaffe at the Lagos rally, he asked Nigerians to get their APV to vote for APC when even primary schoolchildren know that the PVC is the only item that admits a voter into a polling unit.
“Without mincing words, Tinubu’s gaffes already supply comedians, skit makers, meme-makers, and TikTokers with content. He is a self-writing joke and will make Nigeria a bye-word for scorn among the comity of nations, which is why he shouldn’t get close to power.
“Truth be told, lack of mental depth complicated by dementia occasioned by old age is the most-recommended criterion against a Tinubu presidency. And examples abound to buttress this point.”
Responding, the APC spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in his response described Shaibu’s comments about his principal as a campaign in nitpicking.
Onanuga pointed out that Shaibu had left the germane issues raised by Tinubu at the rallies in Abakaliki, Warri, Gbaramatu and Lagos about PDP’s corrupt act while in power for 16 years.
He said Atiku’s aide had failed to address the accusations levelled against the party about how the PDP looted the Nigerian commonwealth in its 16 years in power and how it failed to solve electricity crisis, rail, roads among others, instead he decided to make issues out of a speech slip.
Onanuga noted that “It is a campaign in nitpicking. It is surprising that Shaibu left the germane issues raised by Asíwájú at the rallies in Abakaliki, Warri, Gbaramatu and Lagos about how PDP looted the Nigerian commonwealth in its 16 years in power, how it failed to solve electricity crisis, rail, roads and so on. Only an unserious party and candidate will be concerned with unimportant matters like speech slips.”
Related story:
Tinubu’s Mega Rally Almost Marred by His Muddled Speech Again (video)
APC, PDP in War of Words over Tinubu’s Latest Gaffe
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