The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the absence of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, at the Arise Television Town Hall meeting.

Naija News recalls that the spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, had in a statement on Saturday reiterated that Tinubu would not be attending Arise TV town hall meeting.

Onnauga said the former Governor of Lagos State has headed to the UK, where he would be speaking on security, economy, and foreign policy at Chatham House.

But in a statement on Saturday, the spokesperson of the PDP Campaign Organisation, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Tinubu failed to attend the town hall meeting to avoid fielding questions on his plans to relocate the Federal capital from Abuja to Lagos.

Ologbondiyan said that the foreign trip embarked on by Tinubu was a deliberate plot to dodge the meeting and answer questions regarding his alleged criminal indictments, perjury, forgery, and other controversies.

The PDP chieftain, however, urges Nigerians not to relent for a moment in their continued support for Atiku until they elect him into office.

He said: “The APC presidential candidate should face Nigerians with an explanation for the exposed scheme instead of allowing his handlers to be playing to the gallery with disjointed denials and blaming other political parties for allegedly spreading the accusation that he wants to relocate the federal capital from Abuja to Lagos.

“The plan to relocate the Federal capital was conceptualised and propagated by the Tinubu campaign and only became hysterical as a result of the public ire against such an atrocious plot to sequester the nation’s capital for his personal selfish interest.

“It is clear that the foreign trip embarked on by Asiwaju Tinubu was a deliberate plot to dodge the Arise TV debate scheduled to hold on Sunday following fear that Nigerians will take him to task on the FCT relocation plot, alleged criminal indictments, perjury, forgery and inconsistencies in age, name, ancestry and education qualification.

“Moreover, the handlers of the APC presidential candidate are not comfortable putting him before the cameras because of his constant embarrassing gaffes that question his fitness for the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria.

“If Asiwaju Tinubu cannot face Nigerians as a candidate because of his many pieces of baggage, he surely does not deserve their votes on February 25, 2023.

“Our campaign urges Nigerians not to relent for a moment in their continued support for Atiku until they elect him into office.”