Arewa Meeting:BAT Did Very Badly There,He Was Barely Coherent And His Answers Are In The Video-Ahmed

Hakeem Baba Ahmed, chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s performance at a presidential candidates’ policy dialogue organised by northern groups in 2023, claiming that the president struggled to communicate his responses clearly during the event.

Baba Ahmed made the remarks during an interview with Symfoni TV, where he reflected on the town hall meeting organised by a joint committee of Arewa groups ahead of the 2023 presidential election. He said he participated in the programme as a member of a five-person panel tasked with evaluating the candidates’ presentations.

According to him, the event brought together six northern organisations that sought to provide presidential candidates with a platform to explain their manifestos, discuss their plans for Nigeria and respond to questions from the public.

Baba Ahmed explained that the organisers wanted voters to hear directly from the candidates rather than depend entirely on campaign promises, political endorsements or statements made by their supporters. He described the initiative as an opportunity for Nigerians to assess the candidates’ competence, policy positions and readiness to lead the country.

He noted that the programme was structured to encourage transparency by allowing candidates to address citizens watching the event live. The format, he said, gave the aspirants an opportunity to explain why they deserved public support while enabling voters to compare their responses with those of their rivals.

Recalling Tinubu’s participation, Baba Ahmed said the then-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was asked to explain why Nigerians should vote for him instead of the other contenders in the race.

However, the PRP chairman argued that Tinubu did not perform convincingly during the session, claiming that his answers lacked clarity and coherence.

He maintained that the event provided an opportunity for the candidates to demonstrate their ability to communicate their ideas directly to the electorate, adding that the recordings remained available for members of the public to watch and assess for themselves.

Speaking during the interview, Baba Ahmed said: “It was also the most transparent method you could adopt in terms of saying ‘Sir, see Nigerians through those camera lenses, Nigerians are watching you. Tell them why they should vote for you and not for any of these candidates’. And President Tinubu did very badly there, he was barely coherent. The answers to the questions he gave are there in the video and you can always look at them. I am not sure the Tinubu or today will willingly submit himself to scrutiny.”

Baba Ahmed’s comments suggest that he believes the 2023 town hall dialogue offered voters an important opportunity to examine Tinubu’s ability to articulate his policies and defend his presidential ambition in a public setting.

For many voters, direct engagement with presidential candidates provides an opportunity to assess issues such as economic management, security, employment, education and governance beyond the messages delivered during campaign rallies.

The 2023 presidential election featured several prominent candidates, including Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

You can watch the video from 1:05:58 to 1:06:40

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