Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, has cautioned Nigerians not to hand the nation over to a “sick person.”

Obi stated this on Thursday at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Business School in Enugu, in advance of his presidential campaign in the state.

In addition, he criticized candidates who have been missing from presidential debates, stating that whoever is elected president should be judged on the basis of their character and skill.

“This country is sick and should not be handed over to a sick person. I am not saying that anyone is sick. We have been here for over two hours; we don’t want people who can’t stand for 30 minutes,” Obi said.

“In the United States, during election, they go for debates. Somebody once asked Barack Obama questions that are personal and he answered. But here in Nigeria, somebody wants to contest election, we don’t know his real age; we don’t know his name; we don’t know the schools he attended. Nobody knows his real identity and he is pushing to lead everybody.

“My name is Peter Obi. I can say I went to CKC, went to University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Both the VC today, the DVC today, these are my schoolmates. We came into university the same year and left the same year.

“The people I went to school [with], I can see them here today — my seniors and my juniors. How come we now have people who do not have classmates? This is very important.

“If you said you will fight corruption, let’s go to the road you have passed and see what is remaining there after you left. This year’s election must be based on competence as it requires physical and mental energy, not a retirement job.”

Obi’s remark comes amid worries about the health of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirants Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, respectively.

Obi is 61 years old, Abubakar and Tinubu are in their seventies, and the formal retirement age in Nigeria’s Public Service Rule is 60.

Meanwhile, the age of retirement for teachers was recently raised to 65.