The Chief Spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dino Melaye, has mocked the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over his gaffe at the launch of the party’s campaign rally in Jos, the Plateau State.
OsunDaily News recalls that Tinubu after delivering his speech on Tuesday at the flag off of his presidential campaign in Jos, prayed for Nigeria and mistakenly prayed for the opposition party.
The ruling party’s presidential candidate who suddenly realized he was calling PDP instead of his party, quickly corrected himself and mentioned APC twice.
In a statement on Thursday, Melaye said the gaffe made by the former Governor of Lagos State was an early warning signal that he isn’t fit to become the President in 2023.
Melaye said Tinubu’s low performance, conduct, and carriage at the Jos rally demonstrated another pattern of unfitness for the office he seeks to occupy.
He added that the age, wealth, academic credentials, and records of Tinubu’s career are shrouded in secrecy, saying that such a person is not qualified to become the President.
The former Kogi lawmaker, therefore, asked electorates to use the period of the campaign to mark the scripts of various candidates and their parties.
The statement reads: “In disaster management, there are some principles. The first is early warning signs. The disaster that the unlikely presidency that Tinubu’s ambition represents is laden with early warning signs, buttressed by his conduct and carriage. Nigeria can not afford to walk into disaster.
“The second principle in disaster management is disaster risk reduction. Again, Nigeria has a great chance now to avoid a repeat of the Buhari Presidency, who was largely an absentee President in and outside the county.
“The controversies surrounding the Tinubu persona are legion. His age is shrouded in mystery. His academic credentials are under debate. The records of his career are in dispute.
“The source of his wealth is in contention. The burden of crime hangs around his neck. If in the face of all these he has been getting away and some Nigerians want to contextualise all within human frailty, what about the personal failures he now markets around the country.
“For a very long time, Tinubu made the rest of Nigeria believe that he is not only the conscience of Yorubas but he’s the numero uno of the South-West of Nigeria. Events in the last few weeks during which Tinubu had to wrestle to obtain the endorsement of Afenifere have shown that Tinubu has no political base, or has an exaggerated claim to political leadership.”
Melaye also referenced the experience in the United States under the presidency of Donald Trump, saying that Nigeria can learn from the mistakes of the Western country.
The former lawmaker stated that Tinubu has shown in words, actions, and attitude that he constitutes a great danger to himself and a potential disaster to Nigeria.
He added: “Trump was a man who lived in controversy all his life, but who through brinkmanship, deception, and deployment of a huge financial asset hoodwinked Americans until they promoted him to his incompetence and unmitigated disaster. It will take decades if not centuries for America to clean the mess. Nigeria can be smarter by learning from the mistakes of the masters of democracy who were almost consumed by political indiscretion.
“Tinubu has shown in words, action, and attitude that he constitutes a great danger to himself and a potential disaster to Nigeria. His unfitness manifests daily. Let us heed the early warning signs. Let us adopt a disaster reduction strategy.”
