IBB rules out Atiku, Tinubu from 2023 race

Former Military President Ibrahim Babaginda has ruled out the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar from 2023 presidential race.

In an interview he granted ARISE TV on Friday, IBB said he strongly believes that Nigeria’s next president should be in his 60s.

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Although Tinubu and Atiku have not publicly declared their interest in the 2023 race, there are strong indications that both men are interested in the race.

Atiku lost the 2019 presidential election to Buhari but he has not shown publicly that he is no longer interested.

On his part, Tinubu’s body language has been hinting at the presidency while his foot soldiers have been going round the country to market him.

But IBB told ARISE TV that he strongly believes Nigeria’s next president should be in his 60s.

He said he has at least three persons in mind.

Atiku, who is 75, will be 77 in 2023, while Tinubu, who marked his 68th birthday in March, would have turned 70 years by the next election.

He said, “I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. That is, a person, who travels across the country and has a friend virtually everywhere he travels to and he knows at least one person that he can communicate with.

“That is a person, who is very verse in economics and is also a good politician, who should be able to talk to Nigerians and so on. I have seen one, or two or three of such persons already in his sixties.”