- PDP's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had said that he is ready to face President Muhammadu Buhari during presidential debate
- He said he was satisfied with the display by his running mate, Peter Obi, during the vice presidential debate held on Friday, December 14, in Abuja
- But the organisers of the debate were quoted to have said that they have not received indications that Buhari would take part in the debate
Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said on Friday night, December 14, that he was keenly looking forward to next month’s presidential debate, moments after watching the vice-presidential debate in Abuja.
Premium Times reports that Abubakar expressed satisfaction with the showing of his running mate, Peter Obi, at the vice-presidential debate at Transcorp Hilton Hotels.
Legit.ng gathered that the former vice president made this known on his Twitter page, adding that he was proud of his running mate by his display during the debate.
“I watched with pride as Peter Obi laid out our vision to get Nigeria working again, I can't wait for the presidential debate.”
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Obi sparred with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and three other running mates in the five-person debate on Friday, December 14, focused mainly on the economy for about two and a half hours.
Obi was widely praised for demonstrating a good grasp of statistics, and Osinbajo received commendations for his ability to focus on what his government had done as against what the PDP did in its 16 years in power from 1999 to 2015.
Although the debate organisers said last week they expected President Muhammadu Buhari to participate at the presidential debate on January 19, there has been no commitment from the president.
According to the medium, the organisers said that they have not received indications that Buhari would take part in the debate, but noted that Abubakar’s public utterances have given them confidence that the main opposition candidate would be available.
Buhari did not honour invitations to debate while running as the main opposition candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
It was gathered that concerns that Buhari would shun debate again this cycle prompted some PDP supporters on social media to have Obi boycott last night’s debate. They argued that Buhari is trying to ride on the energy of Osinbajo, rather than present himself for a similar debate as the most consequential person on the ticket.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that ahead of next year's general election, 5 candidates slugged it out at the vice-presidential debates of the 2019 elections at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The debate was put together by Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON).
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