Atiku was represented by Okowa, while Tinubu was not represented at the meeting
By Emma Ogbuehi
Presidential candidates of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, were absent as their counterparts of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Kola Abiola, gave insights into their security and economic blueprints if voted into office.
Atiku, who was out of the country, was however represented by his running mate and Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa. Neither Tinubu nor his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima showed up at the debate, organised by the ARISE Television in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), on Sunday, November 6.
In a brief summary of their mission statement, the candidates hinted on the ways they intend to tackle the twin problems of insecurity and economic uncertainties currently weighing down the country.
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Obi who opened the interaction, stated that his commitment was to run a government that would restore the country to its past. He pledged to harness and unleash the latent energies of Nigerians into productive purposes, stressing that insecurity is a by-product of poverty and unemployment. According to the LP candidate, the moment the youths are productively engaged, the current rising spate of insecurity will be curtailed.
Obi blamed failure of intelligence processing for the March Kaduna-Abuja train abduction., arguing that if the earlier warning on the impending attack was acted upon, the terrorists would not have had their way.
Okowa who represented his principal, disclosed that his party intends to run an inclusive country with governance cutting across all the tiers of the government. Though he refrained from blaming the President on the Kaduna train attack, given that he did not know the intelligence at his disposal, the governor, stressed the need for coordinated intelligence, recruitment of more security personnel and motivation of those in service.
Kwankwaso agreed with Okowa on the need for more security personnel as well as getting them more equipped.
Abiola located the driver of banditry to failure of governance, pledging to run a government of equal opportunities for all.