The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to clear the air on issues surrounding his health.
Femi Fani-Kayode, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, made the call at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr. Fani-Kayode said the call had become necessary since the health and certificate of Mr. Buhari had become major issues of discussion in the country.
He said the request was a standard practice across the world, adding that the PDP was not in any way antagonising Mr. Buhari by it.
The former aviation minister maintained that the PDP was not making any allegation or accession, but that it was only asking Gen. Buhari to clear the air on issues concerning his health which had been under discussion for some time now.
“We are not impressed by the fact that his campaign organisation and his party have tried to speak for him on this matter,” the spokesperson said in reference to statements by the APC that Mr. Buhari was hale and hearty.
“We would prefer that General Buhari himself clears the air and tells Nigerians himself that he is not mortally ill.
“The rumour that he is suffering from prostate cancer is exceptionally worrying and it is incumbent upon each and every one of us to pray for him if this rumour is true,” Mr. Fani-Kayode said.
He said that it was vital that a full disclosure of the state of Mr. Buhari`s health was made known to the people, especially in the face of the country`s recent history; a reference to the health of late President Umaru Yar’Adua who died in office in 2010.
Mr. Fani-Kayode said that Nigerians deserved to know the truth before they would make their choice about who they wanted to vote for as their President, come February 14.
He said that the days of hiding things like a presidential candidate`s health status from the Nigerian public was long over, and therefore urged General Buhari to acknowledge this fact.
“In this day and age, nothing ought to be swept under the carpet.
“We are therefore constrained to urge him to prove to Nigerians that he is really as fit as a fiddle by taking a brisk walk,’’ he said.
Mr. Fani-Kayode said Mr. Buhari could do this by jogging around the perimeter of the stadium before any of his rallies.
He said this would go a long way in allaying the fears of many Nigerians and prove that the APC presidential candidate was fit, contrary to speculations about his health.
