2023: Atiku, Tinubu Are Uninspiring Presidential Candidates – American Publication

An American news publication, Foreign Policy has described All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar as uninspiring candidates.

In the article titled “Nigeria’s Presidential Candidates Are Deeply Uninspiring” the publication insisted that the presidential candidates available to Nigerians are two politicians with shady or uncomplicated reputations.

Making reference to Tinubu, the article said: “There are plenty of problems with Tinubu, most notably his health.

Over the last couple of years, he has spent months abroad on medical vacations, just as Buhari has, fueling fears that the rigours of the job might prove fatal. “Videos of Tinubu speaking on the campaign trail show his hands shaking, among other physical and verbal stumbles.”

Speaking on Atiku’s ambition the article said: “Abubakar is a perennial runner for the top job, since his relationship with his former principal Obasanjo soured after their tenure. According to Obasanjo, his erstwhile deputy is a man of dubious character who should never be trusted with power.

“The PDP’s own reputation is in tatters, with the party having mostly mismanaged the economy during the reign of its last president, Goodluck Jonathan. Many of its former ministers have ended up in jail or are under investigation for corruption.

“There are other foreign allegations of corruption against Abubakar, none of which was helped by the suggestion that he had been placed on a U.S. visa ban for years and was only able to enter the country in 2019 because of the intervention of Trump administration officials who found him a temporary waiver.

“Abubakar stayed at the hotel in Washington owned by then-U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit, and he has not returned to the United States since Trump’s defeat.

“People already worried that he is seeking the country’s highest office just so he can get diplomatic immunity to travel have yet found no reason to change their opinion.”