Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) said<\/p>\n
yesterday that a presidential debate would afford its candidate, President
\nGoodluck Jonathan, a platform to showcase his record of achievements in
\noffice.
\nThe PDPPCO said it believed that the Nigerian people, who are yet to make
\nup their minds, would take a decision based on the arguments of candidates
\nat the debate, stressing that while President Jonathan would be speaking
\non his achievements and those things he would do with a renewed mandate,
\nhis major opponent, General Muhammadu Buhari, if he changes his mind to
\nattend the debate, will only be making empty promises.
\nDirector of Media and Publicity of the Organisation, Chief Femi
\nFani-Kayode, who was accosted by journalists in Abuja, said however that a
\nmajority of Nigerians have already taken their decision to vote for
\nPresident Jonathan because \u201cthey have seen the efforts of this government
\nand what has been going on for the last four years.\u201d
\nFani-Kayode stated that \u201cbut for those that are yet to decide and perhaps
\nfor those who are leaning towards Buhari, if we have a live debate and
\neverybody is allowed to speak his or her mind freely and fairly, I assure
\nyou that by the end of that exercise, General Buhari will be exposed for
\nwhat he is and President Jonathan will be able to give the Nigerian people
\na glimpse of what he has to offer and also a good account of his records
\nfor the last four years.
\n\u201cThat is why the other side is running away. So, I think at the end of
\nthe exercise, after such a debate, whether APC-organised or whether
\norganised by anybody else, President Jonathan will come out in flying
\ncolours while General Buhari will come out a very unhappy man.\u201d
\nHe reiterated that the APC, whose candidate does not want to participate
\nin the debate, should \u201corganise the debate, fill the panel with friends,
\nset the questions, give copies of the questions to their candidate before
\nthe debate and even prepare answers for him.
\n\u201cThey can do all that; and not only will we still attend but we will also
\nfloor them. We will make any concession in order to have the opportunity
\nto debate with Buhari and show the Nigerian people how empty and shallow
\nhe (Buhari) really is.\u201d
\nHe continued: \u201cWe have stated our position loud and clear that our
\ncandidate is prepared to participate in any debate organised by anybody at
\nanytime and anywhere in this country provided it is live and provided we
\nhave the opportunity to speak our mind in a free and fair manner.
\n\u201cIt is the other side that is running away from this challenge. One
\nwonders why. We have absolute confidence in Broadcasting Organisation of
\nNigeria (BON) and, indeed, in anybody else to organise the debate.
\n\u201cAs a matter of fact, let me take this opportunity to throw the challenge
\nto the APC and General Buhari: if it will make him feel more comfortable,
\nlet them organise the debate; let it be an APC-organised debate; let them
\nhave an APC panel; let them have questions that they will show their
\ncandidate even before we get there; we do not need to see the questions;
\nlet them give their candidate a preview of the questions; they can even
\nhave a prepared answer for their candidate to read if he finds it
\ndifficult to articulate his views and positions. We are prepared for all
\nthat.
\n\u201cLet them have all those advantages and tell us about what they are going
\nto do. As long as it is a live debate, we will be prepared to go even to
\nthat debate; and, even at that point, under those circumstances, we would
\nfloor General Buhari and the President will do an admirable job by letting
\nthe Nigerian people know precisely what he stands for and he will also
\nexpose General Buhari for what he is.
\n\u201cSo, whatever the circumstances, we are ready to go. The challenge has
\nbeen put to them; we are waiting for them to respond. Anywhere, anytime
\nin this country, we are prepared to participate. It is the other side
\nthat is running away.\u201d
\nResponding to a question on the allegation of unhidden bias against the
\norganisers of the BON debate, Fani-Kayode said that the PDPPCO had
\ncomplete faith in the organisers.
\nAccording to him, \u201cWe have complete faith in those that have been
\norganising this debate; they have been doing it for years and it is an
\nallegation that is quite baseless. That is precisely why we are saying
\nthat if they are not comfortable with BON or anybody else; then we are
\ntelling you loud and clear that the APC themselves with their party
\nmembers organise a debate.
\n\u201cLet them be the ones to organise it; let them set up the panel; let them
\nbring out the questions; let them show their candidate the questions
\nbefore hand and let them prepare answers to those questions for their
\ncandidate. Let them write it down for him; let them come and we will
\nstill debate with them as long as it is live and as long as our candidate
\nis allowed to give his answers and as long as he is not cut short.
\n\u201cAs long as they would do that, we are ready to debate with them. Even in
\nthose circumstances, General Muhammadu Buhari would not be able to stand
\nagainst President Goodluck Jonathan. They know that; we know that and the
\nentire country knows that and that is why they are running away.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) said yesterday that a presidential debate would afford its candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, a platform to showcase his record of achievements in office.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n