Olagunsoye Oyinlola, chairman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), says President Muhammadu Buhari should allow Bola Tinubu, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), contest the president election.

Addressing journalists at a news conference in Abuja on Friday, Oyinlola said Buhari would go down in history as the first president to hire a proxy in a presidential contest.

He said Buhari must debate against other presidential candidates and “account for his stewardship to Nigerians”.

“President Buhari has indeed said senator Bola Tinubu would do the campaigns on his behalf. We hope he was misquoted. Otherwise, Nigerians should simply ask him to step back from the contest and let his party put Tinubu forward as its candidate,” he said.

“Buhari would go down as the first candidate in history to hire a proxy in a presidential contest. He is the one contesting, he should not be afraid to be the one to interface directly with Nigerians.

“We urge Nigerians to insist that President Buhari must show that he is fit and able for the nation’s top job by leading his own campaign and by being at the presidential candidates’ debate.”

Oyinlola also accused the APC of plotting to rig the 2019 elections by refusing to sign the electoral bill.

He noted that the amendments were made in order to have better legal frameworks for delivery of free and fair elections.

He said: “We, therefore, see the president’s decision not to sign the bill as a direct, open threat to the integrity of the elections and it is not funny.

“We call on him, therefore, to have a rethink and sign the bill into law without any further delay.”

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