A two-time Director of Youth Mobilisation in the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign in 2019 and 2023, Hon. Dimeji Fabiyi, has said that age cannot stop the former vice president from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Fabiyi was reacting to the remarks by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on the criteria for presidential candidates.

Governor Makinde had insinuated that age was a limiting factor for presidential hopefuls in the party.

Though Atiku’s name was not mentioned by Makinde, Atiku, who is still nursing presidential ambition in the next general election, will be 81 years old by 2027.

Fabiyi in his response to Makinde, admonished the Oyo State governor “to devote more time to reading good books and familiarise himself more with intellectuals, instead of keeping the company of alcoholics, so that when next he speaks, he won’t be mistaken for someone who prides himself for drinking 40 years old whiskey.”

FCT minister Nyesom Wike, who is a close ally of Makinde, had last year said he was drinking 40-year-old whiskey at the time Atiku lost the 2027 election.

Fabiyi also noted that ‘’Atiku is of sound mind and body, with the intellectual firmament that measures far ahead of Makinde.”

Fabiyi noted that while Atiku may be older than Makinde, he has the experience and a cosmopolitan ability to solve problems.

He said: “As a matter of fact, I challenge Seyi Makinde to an intellectual contest with Atiku, and we shall see how his arrogance and presumed youthfulness will be humbled.

“I have known Atiku for almost three decades, and I can tell you for free that he’s an avid reader. When Seyi Makinde is in town, he should seek out how resourceful and flourishing Atiku’s library is.

“Atiku is not a connoisseur of expensive wines and doesn’t keep the company of cringe drinkers. Rather, he’s a lover of books who reads widely.

“Unless Makinde believes that leadership is determined by aerodynamic strength, he should have been more guided before making a comment that makes him look like a clown.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Ondo State governorship election held on Saturday.

Aiyedatiwa defeated his closest rival, Mr Agboola Ajayi of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), securing 366,781 votes to Ajayi’s 117,845. The APC clinched victory in all 18 local government areas of the state.

The Labour Party (LP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) polled 1,162 and 2,692 votes, respectively.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized President Bola Tinubu, labeling him as “Baba-go-slow” and asserting that Nigeria’s failing status under Tinubu’s reign is “confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see.” The remarks were made in a statement released by Obasanjo’s Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Saturday.

In his address titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” Obasanjo highlighted the detrimental effects of immorality and corruption on the nation. “The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment,” he stated.

Obasanjo painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s current situation, attributing the nation’s woes to the leadership under President Tinubu. “Nigeria’s situation is bad. The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment,” he said.

He further criticized Tinubu’s administration, stating, “That’s the situation mostly in Nigeria in the reign of Baba-go-slow and Emilokan. The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see through the consequences of the level of our pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, incompetence, and all other forms of iniquity.”

Despite his harsh critique, Obasanjo expressed a glimmer of hope for the future. “But yes, there is hope,” he concluded, suggesting that change is possible if the nation addresses its deep-rooted issues.