All Progressives Congress, (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, dismissed doubts about his medical and educational fitness for the presidency, describing such allegations as distractions by the ruling People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) to deviate from the core campaign issues of corruption and incompetent leadership.

Accusing the PDP of desperation having run out of ideas, Buhari, at a press conference in Abuja, further challenged the ruling party to address the fallout from the poor management of the economy which he claimed made many Nigerian workers to spend the last Christmas hungry.

Buhari described the medical report widely circulated online at the weekend as forged as he said that the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital which reportedly issued the report has disclaimed it as a forgery.

According to him, “I was at Nasarawa and Benue states yesterday (Saturday). Tomorrow I am going to be in two states. The day after tomorrow in two more states, I am doing two states per day. How they got the impression that I was sick I do not know although I got cold and that did not stop me from going through my schedule.

“I don’t know of this desperation. The issue we are telling Nigerians is that of corruption in this country for the last 16 years PDP has literally destroyed this country. This is the issue and what has my health got to do with that one?

“Document has been put in the papers, on twitter that I am sick but the ABU said they are forged documents. This desperation is beyond my understanding.”

When asked by a reporter to make a categorical statement on his state of health, Buhari jokingly asked the reporter: “How old are you? 50 years? I am telling you if we go to the field, you would not last the time I will last in the field.”
The alleged trip

On the issue of his certificates, Buhari expressed surprise that all hell has been let loose on the issue, wondering where his accusers were when the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, cleared him to contest the previous elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

“I have contested three times under the same rules set by the INEC. I was allowed to contest all these elections because my certificate was in order and there were individuals that wrote to the United States War College and the college answered them and it was published by some of your papers. So really this desperation of misinformation that is being passed around will do nobody any good because our minds are being taken away from the serious issues of corruption and incompetence by the PDP”, he said.

Buhari, who was chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) also responded to renewed accusations of corruption against him in the management of the PTF.

“That one has been cleared. There was no fraud in PTF. There was an investigation and General Obasanjo has answered that question. He confirmed that there was an investigation and the report was brought to him and there was nothing on the ground as far as my management and chairmanship of the PTF was concerned. So what else can I say when the person who did the investigation because he was the Head of State cleared me? So what else can I say?”

Adapted from Vanguard

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