The All Progressives Congress Campaign Council has announced that its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will not attend the third edition of Arise Television’s presidential town hall meeting.
This was revealed in a statement issued by the APC campaign council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, in Abuja on Friday.
The presidential town hall series, which the television station is organizing in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Development, is scheduled for December 4.
The third edition, which will focus on education, healthcare, poverty, and human capital, was expected to host Tinubu, the Peoples Democratic Party’s standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar; his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The news comes just two days after Atiku and his running mate, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, backed out of ‘The Candidates,’ a similar town hall meeting hosted by Original Daria Media concept, MacArthur Foundation, YouTube, and Nigerian Television Authority.
In response to the Arise News invitation, the APC candidate’s camp chastised the station’s management on Friday for including him among the candidates invited to the meeting without due consultation.
Onanuga, who was furious, described the act as unprofessional and reckless.
“Our attention has been drawn to an advertisement by Arise News in connection with a Town Hall meeting scheduled for December 4,” the statement said.
“We are surprised that the TV station listed our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a participant without prior consultation with him and his aides and without the candidate’s consent for the advertisement.”
“We regard this as professionally incorrect and reckless.” No media organization should claim the right to railroad any candidate in order to fit its own agenda.
“As we stated earlier, Asiwaju Tinubu’s busy and hectic campaign schedules will not allow him to honor all invitations from different radio and TV stations for debate and or Town Hall meetings, thus our decision for him not to begin with one media organization and then ignore the others.”
“Since President Muhammadu Buhari launched Tinubu’s Action Plan for a Better Nigeria, our candidate has been speaking directly to Nigerians in the absence of a unified and mutually acceptable all parties and all candidates platform.”
“To date, the candidate and his running mate have spoken about their programs at over seven town hall meetings with strategic sectors across the geopolitical zones.”
“These direct engagements will continue in the run-up to the election on February 25, 2023.” As a result, we urge Arise News to stop using our candidate’s name or portrait in its advertisements immediately.”
