The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had explained why he missed the opening ceremony of the 2022 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association which held Monday, in Lagos.

Recall that the NBA conference with the theme ‘BOLD Transitions’ had the presence of foremost presidential candidates such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, respectively.

The programme was scheduled to hold between August 19 to 26, 2022.

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, was also absent at the event, but was represented by his running mate, Kashim Shettima.

The letter released by Kwankwaso’s campaign spokesman, Abdulmumin Jubril via his verified Twitter handle late Monday, read, “I write to acknowledge receipt of your letter on the above subject matter and wish to notify you of my inability to attend this very important conference as a result of other pressing national commitments.

“Under the circumstance, I would have sent my running mate, Bishop Isaac Idahosa, to represent me and share our perspectives for a new and prosperous Nigeria. But unfortunately, he is outside the country at the moment.

“I, therefore, wish to extend my sincere apology for my inability to attend and assure you that the New Nigeria People’s Party share a common vision with the NBA towards our common vision of peace, unity and prosperity of our beloved country.”