Festus Keyamo says the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu will soon be back in the country.
The spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) made the comment on Wednesday following concerns raised about Tinubu’s continued stay in the UK.
“I know he would be back in a couple of days. I have that information. I don’t know the particular day,” the minister of state for Labour and Employment said on Channels Television’s Politics Today. “I can’t say Friday or Saturday but I know he would be back in a couple of days.”
Tinubu’s visit to the United Kingdom has made headlines in recent times. Critics claim his absence when political campaigns have kickstarted suggests there might be issues. Others claim the former Lagos State governor is on a medical visit to the UK.
In the wake of the debates triggered by his absence in the country, Tinubu released a seven-second workout video, saying he is fit to lead the country contrary to insinuations.
And when asked if the APC flagbearer is in London on a medical trip, Keyamo said, “I don’t have such information”, maintaining that “I speak for the campaign council and not for the candidate”.
Keyamo also said Tinubu has nothing to prove about his health. As far as he is concerned, the spotlight on the APC candidate is because the “candidate to beat” for next year’s presidential poll.
“In my own Twitter post on it, I said we are not trying to prove anything to anybody,” he noted.
“We are proud that he is the candidate to beat,” Keyamo argued.
According to him, Tinubu’s absence will not affect the APC campaign, recalling how the party started the campaign in 2019 50 days late.
“Buhari was around on that occasion. Was it because Buhari was sick that we started 50 or 60 days later? No! We had to properly plan a campaign,” he said.
“It is not true therefore that we have not kicked off because a candidate is sick and because he is not around. I am only saying that there is a history. So, it is not automatic (for APC to start presidential campaigns).”
