The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, PDPPCO, yesterday described the refusal of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC,
General Muhammadu Buhari, to participate in televised debates with President Goodluck Jonathan as an expression of his disdain for Nigerians.
PDPPCO, which was reacting in a press statement issued by its spokesperson, Femi Fani-Kayode, to the decision of General Buhari to avoid another debate organised by the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and Channels Television, insisted that the act was despicable.
To this end, he called on the Nigerian electorate to vote against Buhari at the poll, “as a just recompense for his action.”
According to the campaign organization,“We have been informed that General Buhari and the APC have decided not to participate in the NPAN-Channels Television-organised debate after they had earlier agreed to take part in it.
“We had thought that having withdrawn from participating in the debate organised by Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON), they would have availed themselves this second platform.
“Now that they have also turned their back on this, it is now very clear that General Buhari is incapable of engaging in rigorous live television debates on the issue of governance. It speaks about his intellectual laziness and his loss of touch with contemporary issues of development and statecraft.
“We would like to reiterate that the APC has something to shield about General Buhari.”
PDPPCO went on to allege that Buhari, “has campaigned in some states of the federation attacking President Jonathan’s handling of insurgency, corruption and economy.
“Now there is a platform on which both candidates can engage each other on these issues and he (Buhari) is running away.
“It is a disgrace to the APC and their candidate that they would treat everybody with contempt. The organisers of the debates are interested in promoting a robust culture of debates so that people can listen to the candidates and make informed choices on the basis of their arguments.
“We call on Nigerians to express their displeasure with General Buhari and the APC by rejecting them at the poll. This will be a just recompense for treating the Nigerian people and electorate with disdain,” the statement concluded.
