The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola
Tinubu, is unfit to rule the country because of ill-health, the Igbo Elders
Consultative Forum, has said.
The organisation said that only people who were not well
informed, or have lost sanity, would vote for Tinubu, a former governor of
Lagos State.
The chairman of IECF and former governor of Anambra State,
Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, stated these in a statement issued on Tuesday night
from the United States, with about one week to the commencement of campaigns.
But the Spokesperson of Tinubu Campaign Organization,
Adebayo Onanuga, said that Ezeife was acting the script of the
presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi.
According to him, Tinubu had been hale and hearty, fit and
most qualified for Nigeria’s highest office.
Ezeife was reacting to a recent report published on Monday, September 12 that about two weeks after his visit to the vice
presidential candidate of APC, Kashim Shettima, the Igbo Elders Consultative
Forum which he chairs had been seriously divided.
Although the official statement had claimed that it was a
courtesy visit, sources said it had thrown the IECF into controversies as
members who had been champions of the Igbo presidency and supported the
presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, remained divided.
The division among the members of the organisation was
fuelled by the cancellation of two press conferences earlier scheduled for 1 pm
on Tuesday, June 14 and Friday, June 24 2022 at Ezeife’s residence in Asokoro
at the last minute, while no explanation was given.
Since that time, the IECF had maintained a deafening
silence, thereby fuelling more speculation that politicians may have
infiltrated its members.
A dazed member of IECF who does not want to be mentioned
confirmed the division but was not sure if it was allegedly sponsored by the
APC.
But Ezeife in the statement titled, ‘Why I went to
Shettima’, said he visited the former governor of Borno State to assist a
businessman whose warehouse was bulldozed by the Borno State Government.
He said that aside from Tinubu “being too old for the office
of President of Nigeria”, the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the former
governor had knocked off his chances.
Ezeife said, “Yes, I went, uninvited, to Shettima, I was
accompanied by a Maiduguri-born and brought-up businessman of South-East
extraction. Why? More than a year ago, a well-built young man came to my office
in Abuja crying desperately. He talked like someone considering suicide! He
told me that he was finished, that the clothes on him were the only property
left for him. He inherited a hotel from his father and built two more hotels by
himself. All three hotels and a warehouse were bulldozed by the Borno State
government.
“His other properties were also seized. He had helped the
campaign efforts of the current Borno State Governor (Babagana Zulum). He also
bought a bus for the campaign. He was directed to come and see me. I made
efforts to see the Borno State governor but did not succeed.
“Recently, the young man rushed to my office and told me
that Shettima, who handed it over to the current governor can influence him to
listen to his (the businessman’s) case and do some justice. He told me that if
I met Shettima and pleaded with him, the problem would be solved. He added that
Shettima was in town (Abuja) that day.
“That if we went, we would meet him at his Abuja residence. As
he saw it, my meeting with Shettima would end his frustration, suffering and
threat to his life. I did not give it a second thought because the young man
spoke from the depth of his heart. I jumped into the car with him and we headed
to where he knew Shettima was.
“Shettima received me with great respect and did not keep me
waiting too long before calling me in for discussion. I pleaded with Shetima to
appeal to his successor for some justice to be done to the businessman.
“He listened carefully and I was amazed by his positive
responses which included a commitment to help the businessman directly by
himself if the Governor does not do enough. I was elated and I thanked him
profusely.
“As we were leaving the office, Shettima bade me goodbye
with a handshake. I did see camera men taking pictures of us. But I knew what I
went for. I shall go to anybody who can genuinely help a person in
life-threatening distress. There was nothing political in the visit. Truly, I
do not consider Shettima an opponent in the 2023 presidential election. Why?
“His principal, Jagaban Tinubu, is really not well. Only
people who are not well informed, or have lost sanity, will vote for him to go
and die in AsoRock.
“Also, Tinubu is too old for the office of President of
Nigeria. A very representative group of Northern youths came to my house and
declared that nobody above 65 years old should contest for the office of the
President of Nigeria.
“The greatest problem of the old is brain power deficiency,
especially loses of memory. I explained this to Yoruba youths who proposed my
joining the race for President of Nigeria. Should everything have been alright
for the Tinubu ticket, it’s Muslim- Muslim nature knocks it out – removes it
from consideration.
“I appeal to Nigerians of every ethnic group and religious
faith to bow to the will of the Almighty God, who seems to have taken over from
our conscienceless politicians, to bring about a new Nigeria, to rescue Nigeria
and revive her destiny – the country to which He poured an abundance of His
blessings, making her the very most gifted Country on earth.
“Yes, Ecclesiastes says there is a time and a season for
everything under the sun. This appears to be the time and the season for the
manifestation of the new Nigeria which must develop to a world superpower,
raising the respect and dignity of all blacks on earth and participating in,
and improving the leadership of the world. God’s design and will dominate man’s
will in, and mess up, of Nigeria.”
Onanuga challenged anyone who has a contrary opinion about
Tinubu’s perfect health to come forward with proof.
He said, “We have said many times that Asíwájú Tinubu is
hale and hearty, fit and most qualified for Nigeria’s highest office. Let
anyone who has a contrary claim prove otherwise. Enough of all these malicious
statements from quack doctors, saying things they are not qualified to say.
“Like Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate who groundlessly
pronounced on Tinubu’s health without being a medical doctor two weeks ago,
Ezeife has merely shamelessly regurgitated his candidate’s statement.
“We know Ezeife as an economist, not a medical doctor unless
he is now making a claim to be a quack. We know him as a rabid supporter of
Peter Obi. And we do not begrudge him for his political views.
“It is a shame that the 83-year-old tried to hide under a
so-called youthful group to canvas for his candidate while knocking out Tinubu
and Abubakar Atiku on the ground of age. According to his warped logic, only
anyone who is below 65 should lead Nigeria. We are surprised that the
octogenarian is making the claim when the leader of the world’s second leading
democracy, Joe Biden is close to 80.
“Two years ago, Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia retired at 95
as prime minister. He retired not because of brain power deficiency, but
because he had fulfilled his term in office.”
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