Nigerians on social media users have criticised Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), over his Saturday comment at the 7th edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADInvest 7.0), that the Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai “turned a rotten situation to bad one.”
Tinubu had caught headlines for a series of blunders since he publicly declared his presidential ambition.
The Saturday statement on El-Rufai, which elicited mixed reactions in the hall, generated a storm on Twitter.
Social media users, especially those aligned with his opponents latched on to that to question his stability for the office of the President.
“I am openly begging Governor El Rufai not to run away for additional Degrees like PhD or others. There are educated derelicts. We are not going to let you run away. Your vision, creativity and resilience in turning a ‘rotten situation to a bad one’ are necessary at this critical time and that is why we are here,” he said.
Some of the reactions on Twitter include:
@iamadonisa said, “It must really be boring sitting there to listen to this man. It takes so many seconds to put words together. Did I hear ‘turning a rotten situation to a bad one’?”
@Rich_D_Guy: “Turning a rotten situation into a bad one? 🤦🏾 God may this thing never happen to Nigeria again.”
@benfoly_david: “Turning rotting situation to a bad one…. Am I the only one that heard that?”
@pdauda: “At this point, his handlers need to provide or engage transcription services so the audience can read what he’s trying to say and move on with the rest of their lives in good time. This is a good example of turning a rotten situation into a bad one🤷♀️🤷♀️💀”
@kennis554: “Baba is commending El rufai for turning a rotten situation to a bad one. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. We cannot have this man as our President, pls vote wisely.”
@jamaticulus: “Did I just hear “Your resiliency in turning a rotten situation into a bad one”? Mehn. Tinubu is goneeee!”
@Fwachabe2: “El-Rufai is turning a rotten situation to a bad one 😂😂 😂
see people clapping😭😭.”
Tinubu’s campaign has expectedly rose in his defence over the gaffe with Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media & Publicity, Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, saying the issue was blown out of proportion because it’s a political season.
“At the Kaduna State Investment Summit, All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu while commending, Governor Nasir El-Rufai for his transformational leadership in the state had a slip of tongue that is common to every human being and even great leaders.
“The APC leader inadvertently said Governor El-Rufai “turned a rotten situation” he met on ground in Kaduna into “a bad one” whereas he meant to say “to a great one to be proud of today. It was a mere Freudian slip, that is not unusual in life, even among leaders of nations.
“We recognise we are in political season where everything is latched on for deliberate distortion and twisted mischief.
“While mischief makers went so low, we noted that the audience at KadInvest 7.0 followed Asiwaju Tinubu with rapt attention and knew he only had a slip. We can only tell mischief makers to look for better and productive things to do with their time.”