*Says He Won’t Respond To Lackeys Any Longer As They’re Not On Ballot Paper
*’Defend Your Record. Explain Your Policies. Address The Concerns Nigerians Have. Debate Your Fellow Candidates. Do Not Send Proxies To Fight Battles You Are Unwilling Or Unable To Face Directly’
By our reporter
Henceforth, presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) will not respond to attacks, insinuations or provocations from those his camp described as surrogates of other 2027 poll presidential flagbearers, but who “are either incapacitated or lack a record to defend.”
The Peter Obi Media Office disclosed this in a statement signed and made available to newsmen by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, yesterday.
Carpeting the surrogates, Zekeri stated that
“these hired surrogates indulge in all kinds of fabrications to keep their principal’s name afloat, and they get elated when they think they have successfully gotten the candidate’s attention.”
Rousing other presidential candidates to come out in the open and show their stuff to Nigerians, as Obi has been doing, and not hide behind surrogates, Zekeri noted that the election is a contest for those whose names will be on the ballot, and not lackeys.
He stated: “A presidential election is a contest between the individuals whose names will appear on the ballot and who are asking Nigerians to entrust them with leadership of the country, not between candidates and their hired defenders.
“Our candidate, Mr Peter Obi, is a presidential contender. He stands by his words, defends his record, and is prepared to discuss his ideas openly with Nigerians to enable them to make a well-informed choice. Those seeking to govern Nigeria should have the same courage.”
Zekeri added: “We challenge every presidential candidate hiding behind surrogates to step forward and speak for themselves.
“Defend your record. Explain your policies. Address the concerns Nigerians have.
“Debate your fellow candidates. Do not send proxies to fight battles you are unwilling or unable to face directly.
“It is politically convenient to employ surrogates to make reckless accusations, distort facts, and throw mud, while the candidate remains safely removed from the fallout. But Nigerians deserve better than remote-controlled presidential politics.
“Mr Peter Obi will not partake in that spectacle. From now on, surrogates are not our constituency of response. Candidates are.
“If a presidential candidate has an issue with Mr Obi, let that candidate speak directly. If there are policy disagreements, let the candidates debate openly.
“If there is a challenge to Mr Obi’s record, let the challenger present their own record as well. No more proxies. No more political ventriloquism. No more responses to individuals who are not on the ballot.
”The 2027 election will not be decided by the loudest surrogate. It will be decided by Nigerians. And Nigerians deserve to hear directly from those seeking their votes.
“If your name is on the ballot, Peter Obi will engage with you. If you are not on the ballot, Peter Obi has no reason to engage with you.
“We are committed to the Nigerian people—listening to their suffering, respecting their aspirations, and focusing on the urgent task of rescuing our nation from the failures of leadership.
“The era of responding through surrogates is over. Let the candidates come forward. A New Nigeria is Possible but certainly not with surrogates.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: L-R: Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate, African Democratic Congress (ADC); Obi; President Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate, All Progressives Congress (APC).
