Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, was criticized by the campaign spokespeople for Tinubu-Shettima and Atiku-Okowa for requesting older candidates to withdraw from the race for the 2023 elections.

At his campaign rally in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Obi had stated that frail and elderly presidential contenders had no business competing for such a crucial job.

He claimed that he could not conceive having somebody represent him at a rally that had anything to do with his goal of providing assistance.

He also emphasized the need for a man with the physical stamina to complete the job successfully in order to save Nigeria from total collapse.

Reacting to his statement, the spokesperson of the Atiku-Okowa presidential campaign, Phrank Shaibu, said age does not represent capacity.

He added, “He should use this period to apologise to his followers and Nigerians for not ‘verifying’ the character of his campaign DG or performing any form of due diligence before appointing the same person to market his credentials as well as his anti-corruption stance.”

The spokesman for Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo, also carpeted the former Anambra State governor, saying he is showing a sign of desperation.

Keyamo said, “He is already pandering to sentiments. That is a statement that indicates he has completely run out of ideas. He is not the youngest. We still have presidential candidates in their 40s. I can give you the names of some. Obi should be the one stepping down for them.

“His statement is a very unfortunate one. In fact, who told him he is one of the major party candidates? This is a man who is coming on the ballot for the first time. How does he know he is a major candidate? He is probably listening to the noise around him. I cannot wait for the 2023 election to come on time. They will then understand what it means to run an election, not this noise all over the place.

“As I normally say, when jungle matures, they will understand.”