I am strong, I am healthy, I am ready to serve Nigeria —Tinubu
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), said on Sunday that he is strong, he is healthy and ready to serve Nigeria.
The former governor of Lagos State, who shared a workout video of him on an indoor bicycle via his official Twitter handle, was reacting to news about his health and location.
“Many have said I have died; others claim I have withdrawn from the presidential campaign,” he tweeted on his verified handle.
“Well… Nope. This is the reality: I am strong, I am healthy and I am READY to serve Nigerians from Day One,” he added.
A situation that made headlines on social media and in traditional media after he failed to appear at the peace accord signing ceremony last Wednesday.
Apparently, many had questioned his absence any time the public wanted to see him and assess his physical and mental capability. He left his running mate, Kashim Shettima, to represent him in the peace accord meeting.
A situation that sparked outrage and catapulted the hashtag #WhereIsTinubu to the top of Twitter trending topics.
The APC national leader on his Twitter handle Sunday denied reports that he had withdrawn from the race.
Read also: Tinubu whose mistakes made Buhari warns us against another mistake
Ezekwesili picks Obi over Atiku, Tinubu, others
Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education, has chosen Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, over Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other presidential candidates vying to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari come May 2023.
The convener of the “Bring Back Our Girls” group made her choice public during her guest appearance on Channels TV Sunday Politics.
Ezekwesili said that the running mate to Atiku Abubakar of the PDP in the 2019 election had all the leadership qualities to run the affairs of the country.
“Somebody says to you, among a cast of possible presidents that includes the three frontrunners that we currently have — a possible President Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi — do you need anybody to tell you where you would be going? It would be an Obi. ”
Despite the inadequacies in leadership making things in the country worse, she admired the sincerity of Obi and, as a result, rated him higher than the other candidates.
“Regardless of the fact that he comes from that particular political class that we are talking about, he still at least represents many more shapes than the other two top candidates (in reference to Atiku and Tinubu),” she noted.
The former minister admired the growing trend of youths taking up a more active role in the political landscape and believed that their support for Obi would likely help him upset the political calculation.
She believes that the poor leadership problem in the country is what has pushed the youths in the country to want to take charge of the affairs of the country.
“Sometimes, I just imagine what leadership would be like in the country if they just listened to youths,” she noted.
According to her, the zeal shown by young people during the #EndSARS protest is a poster of what youth can achieve.
Her comment came barely a day after Obi’s supporters marched in several parts of the country and in London to drum up support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
2023: Tinubu group commences training for over 600 vote canvassers
No fewer than 600 vote canvassers tasked with the mandate of ensuring victory for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) began their training at the weekend in Abuja.
The training which was organized by the Asiwaju Beyond 2023, aimed at selling, mobilizing and driving Tinubu’s candidacy and programmes to Nigerians at the grassroots.
Realwan Okpanachi, the Director-General of the group who spoke to the press on the sideline of the training which took place in Maitama, Abuja that 10 canvassers were selected from each polling unit across the country.
It is learnt that the training is a part of the programmes lined up by the group to commemorate Nigeria’s 62nd Independence Anniversary with the theme: ‘’Tinubu/Shettima Ticket, A Pan-Nigerian Project’’.
Okpanachi said the training would prepare the canvassers with adequate information about their ‘’political products’’ to be marketed to Nigerians in the next five months of the campaign exercise.
Burkina Faso president resigns on condition coup leader guarantees his safety
Burkina Faso’s self-declared military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore has accepted a conditional resignation offered by President Paul-Henri Damiba to avoid further violence after Friday’s coup, religious and traditional leaders said on Sunday.
According to the deal, announced at a press conference, Traore had agreed to seven conditions, including a guarantee of Damiba’s safety and the security of soldiers who backed him, and the honouring of promises made to the West Africa regional bloc to return to constitutional rule by July 2024.
Damiba could not be reached for comment. A close family member told Reuters he left the country on Sunday.
Traore said earlier that order was being restored after violent protests against the French embassy and days of fighting as his faction moved to topple the government.
Splits have emerged within the army, with many soldiers appearing to seek Russian support as the influence of former colonial power France wanes.
At least three separate videos shared on online on Saturday and Sunday showed soldiers atop armoured personnel carriers, waving Russian flags, while the crowd around chanted “Russia! Russia!”. Reuters has not verified the videos.
Traore’s team urged people to halt attacks on the French embassy, targeted by protesters after an officer said France had sheltered Damiba at a French military base in the West African country and that he was planning a counter-offensive.
The French foreign ministry denied the base had hosted Damiba after his ouster on Friday. Damiba also denied he was at the base, saying the reports were a deliberate manipulation of public opinion.
“We want to inform the population that the situation is under control and order is being restored,” an army officer said in a statement broadcast on national television.
Another statement said Traore would continue to act as president until a transitional civilian or military president is designated in the coming weeks.
Ouagadougou was mostly calm on Sunday after sporadic gunfire across the capital throughout Saturday between opposing army factions.
“We invite you to continue with your activities and refrain from all acts of violence and vandalism… notably that against the French embassy and the French military base,” the officer loyal to Traore said, urging people to remain calm.
Lula leads Bolsonaro in Brazil election as first votes tally
Brazil’s national election authority on Sunday began reporting the initial results of the country’s presidential election, in which leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva aims to unseat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
According to Reuters, with just 0.1 percent of voting machines counted, Lula had 51 percent of valid votes, compared to 37 percent for Bolsonaro, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) reported on its website. If no candidate wins over half the votes, excluding blank and spoiled ballots, the top two will face off in a second-round vote on October 30.
