2023: Tinubu and Atiku absent from the presidential town hall

Two major presidential candidates, Bola Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, were absent from the presidential meeting held on Sunday evening.

While Atiku was represented at the event by his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Tinubu had no representation and was replaced by the organizers with another presidential candidate.

The event was organized by the Center for Democracy and Development and Arise Television.

In addition to MM. Tinubu and Atiku, the two other presidential candidates invited to the debate were Peter Obi of the Labor Party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP. The last two were present for the debate.

The four men were selected based on their parties' performance in an online poll by organizers in which the 18 political parties were listed in alphabetical order.

A CDD statement revealed that after the investigation was closed, nine parties did not receive a vote. The other nine received the following percentage of votes: African Action Congress (AAC) - 20.7%, All Progressives Congress (APC) - 86.2%, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) - 6.9%, Labor Party (LP) - 96.6%, New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) - 51.7%, People's Democratic Party (PDP) - 82.8%, People's Redemption Party ( PRP) - 6.9%, Social Democratic Party (SDP) - 6.9% and Young Progressive Party (YPP) - 13.8%.

The outcome of this survey informed our decision to invite the four highest-scoring parties to the town hall: LP, APC, PDP and NNPP, organizers said.

READ ALSO:

However, a few hours before the event, Mr. Tinubu was replaced by Kola Abiola of the Peoples Redemption Party who was present at the event.

The moderator, Reuben Abati, announced that Atiku was on his way back from Morocco and had contacted the organizers to have Mr. Okowa represent him. Nothing was said about the APC.

The organizers also did not specify why the APC candidate was not present or represented at the event. They also did not explain why and how Mr. Abiola was chosen as a replacement since his party did not come fifth in the ballot. The fifth position was won by the African Action Congress (AAC), whose candidate, Omoyele Sowore, had complained about his exclusion from the debate.

The absence of Mr. Tinubu or his representative sparked controversy on social networks. Many Nigerians have accused the ruling party candidate of avoiding critical public engagements.

Some attendees at the event in Abuja had also protested Mr Okowa's attendance, saying only presidential candidates should be allowed to attend. However, organizers said Atiku communicated his absence to them and they agreed that he would be represented by his running mate.

Support the integrity and credibility journalism of PREMIUM TIMES Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. For free and continued access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider providing modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help sustain relevant journalism and keep it free and accessible to everyone.

Donate

[embedded content]

TEXT ANNOUNCEMENT: Call Willie - +2348098788999