Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, was allegedly rushed off the stage during the party’s presidential rally in Minna on Wednesday due to ill health.
Earlier, the APC candidate was unable to arrive at the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna, the state capital, in the morning.
According to a source, the former governor was advised to rest that Tuesday evening after appearing at the North West zone rally at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, delaying his arrival in Minna until Wednesday.
The former Lagos governor was said to have arrived at the rally venue in Minna in the afternoon. However, when escorted to the stage to speak in a monitored live telecast, the APC flag bearer could only shout the party’s name several times in a slow and incoherent manner.
“APC, APC, Niger! Nigeria, Nigeria! Sai Bago, Sai Bago, APC, APC!” Tinubu stated on the stage. “Sai Lolo, Sai Lolo,” he continued, then burst out laughing.
As his voice faded, he kept shouting, “Sai Bago, sai jagaban,” a nickname he is known for. He continued to yell, “God bless you, God bless Niger State, may God bless you,” before being led away from the podium without presenting his manifesto or plans for the country ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
The rally was then cut short in a live broadcast on TVC, which this paper was watching.
Dele Alake, spokesman for Tinubu’s campaign council, denied that the party’s flag bearer was rushed out of the rally ground base due to health concerns.
“Absolute bunkum, balderdash, hogwash, infantile imagination of warped minds,” Alake wrote. “Go see the video clip, i was right behind him on the stage. The Campaign started a little behind schedule and there were other activities marked for today like his commissioning of the APC Minna secretariat, visit to the emir etc vis a vis the time.
