Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, has said that both Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu are too sick to stand for an hour-long live interview.

Okonkwo tweeted this on Tuesday while reacting to Sunday’s Arise News Presidential Town Hall Series.

Earlier on Monday, Festus Keyamo, spokesman of the All Propgressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, had likened the performance of all other candidates present at the event to the “confession of witches”.

“They’re busy confessing like witches and cancelling themselves [sic] out,” he said of Obi and Okowa. “They’re calling out those deceiving some gullible Nigerians and re-packaging themselves as ‘new breeds’. Let them fight to finish; we in the APC are not disguising; we are defending our records with ‘our full chest!’”

Responding with strong words of his own on Tuesday, Okonkwo tweeted: “PO (Peter Obi) will always be available for Town Hall series/meetings and presidential debates organised by non-partisan, credible organisations for only presidential candidates and not surrogates.

“Nobody should read his statement as meaning that PO will not attend if Tinubu and Atiku will not attend. Nigerians already knew that they are sick in the body and brain and cannot stand an hour live interview. They are unfit to be President. PO is the only option.”

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In an earlier criticism of the town hall series, Okonkwo had said the organisers were unprofessional.

Okonkwo stated that the presidential town hall series should have been graced by presidential candidates only. Ifeanyi Okowa, a vice presidential candidate, represented Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate. Tinubu did not attend the town hall series in person or representation.

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“The purported presidential town hall series organised by Arise TV was a fraud. What is a vice presidential candidate doing in a presidential townhall series? I have not witnessed a vice presidential candidate represent a presidential candidate in an American presidential debate,” Okonkwo tweeted on Tuesday.

“Arise TV must start by tendering apologies to the nation for its flawed, disorganised, biased and disrespectful townhall series. You cannot change the goalpost at the middle of the game. Presidential townhall is presidential townhall period!

“If presidential candidates can send delegates, then presidential candidates should send only their spokespersons to represent them anytime Arise TV is organising presidential debates because Arise TV is unqualified to handle a debate of that level. Arise was simply unprofessional.”

The absent presidential candidates highlighted busy and hectic campaign schedules as reasons for their absence on Sunday. Tinubu has ruled himself out of attending any presidential debate or dialogue.