The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was conspicuously missing during the signing of the peace accord ahead of the 2023 elections.
The event which took place in Abuja, the nation’s capital city, was organised by the National Peace Committee to ensure violence-free elections in 2023.
The Chairman of the National Peace Committee and former military Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar, appealed to the 18 political parties, their presidential candidates and spokespersons, to commit to issues-based campaigns, as fake news and misinformation are already creating a toxic environment that is capable of threatening the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
Some members of the National Peace Committee who are already seated include Bishop Hassan Kukah, John Onayeikan, John Momoh, Aliko Dangote, as well as Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar.
Some of the presidential candidates at the event include Labour Party’s Peter Obi, Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar, New Nigeria Peoples Party’s Rabiu Kwankwaso, Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress.
Senator Kashim Shettima, Tinubu’s running mate, was sighted at the programme.
This is the second time the APC presidential candidate will be missing at a major public function. He was represented by Shettima at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference held in Lagos a few weeks ago and no explanations were offered for his no-show.
There have been speculations surrounding Tinubu’s fitness for the nation’s top job, amid insinuations that the septuagenarian has yet again left Nigeria’s shores to tend to his health and visible frailty on the political stomp.