Tinubu throws underhand jab at Atiku saying he will not be a part-time president living in Dubai

ALL Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has thrown an underhand jab at his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar saying he will not govern Nigeria from Dubai if elected president.

In February next year, Nigeria goes to the polls to elect a new president, with the ruling APC selecting Asiwaju Tinubu as its candidate and the main opposition PDP going for former vice president Alhaji Abubakar.  Governor Obi of the Labour Party and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are the other major frontrunners in the election.

With campaigns now underway, Asiwaju took a subtle swipe at the former vice president yesterday, declaring that he would not be a part-time president who would share his time between living in Dubai and Nigeria. Over recent years, Alhaji Abubakar has lived in Dubai where he owns a palatial home.

Speaking during an interactive session with members of the popular Tijjaniyyah sect in Kano, Asiwaju Tinubu said he would concentrate his attention and energy on confronting and surmounting Nigeria’s pressing challenges. At the meeting, members of the Tijjaniyyah sect led by Sheikh Bashir Tijjani, presented a long list of issues they wanted the APC presidential candidate to address, when he gets into office.

Responding to Asiwaju Tinubu jibe, however, Alhaji Abubakar fired back, telling the people of Kano State to disregard the fluke promises made to them by Tinubu Asiwaju. He added that the former Lagos State governor and his party, the APC, had never been known to keep their word, adding that Asiwaju Tinubu had been out of the country most of the time for undisclosed reasons.

Asiwaju Tinubu had said: “I promise to devote 100% of my time and energy to serving Nigeria. You will have it better with me, not 50% in Dubai in the United Arab Emirate, 50% in Nigeria.”

On Saturday night, Asiwaju Tinubu also met with business leaders from across northern Nigeria, during which he assured them of a better business environment through implementation of well thought-out policies that would revive dead and ailing manufacturing companies in Kano and across the country. He identified the link between Kano as a centre of commerce and his economic plan for Nigeria.