Elections 2015: Gen. Buhari Denies Ill-Health & Collapsing In Calabar

The Presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has denied that ill-health is hindering his campaign across the South-South region in Nigeria. A campaign aide who spoke to SaharaReporters correspondent called the rumour making rounds as another effort by the PDP-led government to malign their candidate.

The aide who spoke under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the candidate’s health denied that Buhari collapsed in Calabar while addressing party faithful at a stadium. He said that what happened at the event was that the 72-year-old retired general tripped on his wrapper but quickly regained his composure and went on to address a large crowd that had gathered to hear him.

On the delayed campaign stop at Benin City, Buhari’s campaign aide said that it was cancelled at the request of the Edo state governor, Comrade Adam Oshiomhole. Buhari, he said, would now move on to the next stage of his campaign stops at Enugu and Anambra states.

Buhari’s political opponents have made his age an issue in this campaign. At a stop in Port Harcourt, he told Channels TV that he was in good health and had what it would take to manage a country as complex as Nigeria.

Health of political office holders is a matter of great interest to Nigerians after the passing away of a sitting president in 2010. President Umaru Yaradua’s death from an ill-health that was existing before he ran for office caused a political crisis that upended his party’s rotational formula. Some analysts believe that the current crisis threatening the political fortunes of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, stems from that incident.

Buhari was in Aba and Umahia earlier today visiting traditional rulers and addressing rallies, his aides said he is on his way to Abakaliki in Ebonyi state from where he will proceed to Anambra and Enugu tomorrow.