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.”