Minister of State, Labour and Employment and spokesman of the All Progressives Congress(APC) Presidential Campaign Council(PCC), Festus Keyamo has said it is not necessary for either the party or PCC to keep Nigerians abreast of the movement or state of health of the APC presidential candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Keyamo made the declaration on Thursday while speaking on a TV-monitored programme.
He noted that Tinubu has not assumed the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Nigerians should moderate their demand for information on his movement or alleged health challenge.
He said: “My information about our candidate is that he is hale and hearty. That is the information I get this morning. He is out of the country and he will be back in a matter of days. It is as straightforward as that.
“There is no controversy and no indication that there should be cause for concern. I do understand that he is a candidate for an election but we should also understand that he is not a president too.
“And to issue a statement every minute as to his whereabouts? the standard is not as high as being the president of Nigeria. He is just a candidate. Yes, he has some responsibilities towards the electorates and I do agree, but the standard is not as high as a president in office who could at every point in time issue statements as to his whereabouts.
“We are not going to live our lives for the opposition and mischief makers. I know there are some genuine concerns and inquiries, but there are also mischief makers. For those who are genuine like you, I think you should be satisfied when a campaign council spokesperson comes on air and say that Tinubu is hale and hearty. If you probe further, then it is mischievous.
“I spoke with Seyi, Tinubu’s son. The son is with him and the son says “daddy is okay” and that is our discussion this morning.”
Keyamo also dismissed the claim that his role as a spokesperson of the APCPCC could affect his responsibility as a serving minister as he submitted that he has not breached any provisions of the Constitution.
“I have a responsibility towards my party. At the end of every month, they take a certain amount out of my salary and pay it to the party. That has been happening since 2019 when I was appointed Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, I do have a responsibility towards my party too and it behoves me to juggle my time very well to ensure that one doesn’t interfere with the other.
“I have a responsibility to campaign for my party and to campaign on the records of the government which I serve. For example, if I leave here now this morning, I am going straight back to my office at the ministry to start work. I know that it has been on the card for me to be here for some time but I declined invitations a number of times because official duties didn’t allow me to come, but today I have a bit of a breather and I thought I should be here for one hour before I go to the office. So, I don’t think that’s a problem.
“In the past, ministers have served as campaign director-general and nobody raised an eyebrow. In 2014, a minister in Jonathan’s cabinet served, and the minister of special duty served as deputy DG of the campaign. So, I have a lot of historical evidence to show that it has always been happening. I am not saying that because it happened in the past and it’s right, but I am saying there is no constitutional infraction, no legal infraction in this case.”
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