2019: I didn’t walk in Daura to prove my fitness —Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Friday declared that he needed not walk to convince Nigerians that he is healthy enough to contest next year’s presidential election.

Reacting through his Twitter handle @MBuhari, the president said the fact that he walked back to his Daura home on Tuesday after the Eid prayers was  not meant to prove his fitness.

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Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, had on Tuesday said that the president discarded protocol to walk for 800 meters to the admiration of his supporters, saying that the walk was an affirmation that the president was fit to contest the 2019 presidential election.

“Much has been said about my walk in Daura a few days ago. I didn’t do it to prove my fitness to anybody. The people of my constituency came out in large numbers to see me and the car in which I was had tinted windows. So I decided to come out of the car so that people could see me.

“People who know me know that I am not given to getting cheap political points. The crowd in Daura was not seeing me so I came out of the car so they could see me. I didn’t and don’t need to walk to convince anyone about my health and the decision to contest for a second term,” he said.

It is not clear why the president issued the statement which was a disclaimer to the statement issued on Tuesday by his office which said the fact that he trekked 800 metres back home was a proof that he was fit to contest for a second term.

A statement issued by Shehu in Daura on Friday, also said the president raised the issue in a meeting with representatives of the five local governments in Daura Emirate, explaining that the walk was not about proving his fitness level or getting cheap political capital.

The statement quoted him as saying: “This is my constituency, the people came out in their large numbers to see me and the car in which I was being driven had tinted windows.

“They were not seeing me. So, I came down so they could see me.

“I didn’t need to convince anyone about my health and the decision to contest for a second term- a decision that I made public in April this year,” he said.