The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization has revealed why the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima failed to appear for the national debate organized by Arise Television on Sunday.

Mocking Tinubu and his running mate, Shettima over the development, Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization said they ran away from the debate because they cannot face Nigerians.

The campaign organization also linked fear of facing probing questions from Nigerians to why they didn’t appear at the debate.

The campaign organization in a statement issued by its Spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan said, “Asiwaju Tinubu has a record of avoiding debates and public interrogations following a mortal fear that Nigerians will put him to task on his alleged stinking corruption record, reported proxy treasury looting, obvious incompetence, ethnic bigotry as well as his alleged masterminding of APC’s anti-people policies that wrecked our nation in the last seven and half years.

“The APC Presidential Candidate and his running mate cannot face debates for fears of having Tinubu’s claims of building Lagos State publicly exposed as a hoax as he cannot point to any legacy development project he achieved in the State as Governor.

“Asiwaju Tinubu is also aware that he cannot face the public to answer questions bordering on his past, particularly the question on his ancestry, the Alpha-Beta tax saga; as well as his alleged stranglehold on the business, politics and lives of Lagosians from 1999 till date.

“He is afraid of being exposed of fleecing Lagos State for eight years through multiple and harsh tax regimes with nothing to show other than rulership by the brawl, breeding of touts and raising criminal street gangs, only to turn around now to attempt to claim the achievements of succeeding governors as his.”

Still listing the sins of Tinubu, Ologbondiyan said, “Nigerians will recall that the APC Presidential Candidate did not attend the signing of the National Peace Accord in Abuja; he failed to turn up at Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries, he avoided the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference and shunned the televised debate organized by credible media houses and Civil Society groups in Abuja on Sunday to attend a marriage bash in the same nation’s capital.

“Is it not strange that Tinubu, who claims to be a progressive, is dodging debate, a hallmark of progressivism?

“Asiwaju Tinubu and Kashim Shettima have turned themselves into a butt of a public joke over their reported inability to even defend the scripts that were written for them with spurious claims and litany of fake promises which Nigerians have appropriately tagged as ‘Renewed Hopelessness’.

“Moreover, it is apparent that the APC Presidential Candidate could not detail his running mate to represent him at the Abuja debate ostensibly because of Sen. Shettima’s abysmal performance at the last Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries outing.

“Besides, the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign is challenged to come clean on allegations in the public domain that Shettima is avoiding the debates for fear of awaiting probing questions on the alleged compromising of security as Governor of Borno State during which about 270 students were abducted in Chibok.

“Also, under his watch as Governor, there are unanswered questions over a series of deadly terrorist attacks in the Borno State.

“Is Sen. Shettima afraid of explaining to Nigerians why his government did not heed the alleged security warning and directive by the Federal Government to relocate the schoolgirls to a safer location which would have averted the abduction?

“In shunning public debates, both Tinubu and Shettima have shown that they have nothing to offer and that they are in the Presidential race just for personal aggrandisement and not to serve Nigerians.”

Explaining why Atiku and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa are the best for Nigeria, the campaign organization said, “on the other hand, Nigerians are celebrating the dazzling performance of the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, in public debates, media interviews and Townhall meeting where, in readiness to take over the reign of power on May 29, 2023, they have given excellent answers to questions and proffered practicable solutions to the myriads of problems brought to our nation by the APC.”