President Solih confirmed to attend the official presidential debate

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s campaign spokesperson and Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, on Sunday, has confirmed that the president will attend the official presidential debate hosted by the state media for the candidates contesting the presidential election slated for September 9^th.

Mariya confirmed President Solih’s participation in the debate on Sunday at a time media outlets have reported otherwise.

“Confirmation that President Solih will partake in the debate set to take place at MNU has been provided to me,” she said.

Mariya, emphasizing the debate as an academic debate, detailed the debates held in universities will be backed by educational facts and research into policies. However, she stressed that the president does not believe in participating in debates for the purpose of gaining fame through media outlets.

“Visiting the people is much more important than that, therefore, he prioritized this instead,” she added.

She explained that her remarks were not meant to scrutinize media outlets, but rather, was drawing an example from other candidates.

Mariya described other candidates as individuals who make pledges to the public, in the comfort of cold rooms, through media outlets, rather than personally vising the people.

“Instead of this, President Solih has gone in front of the people, talked to them and inquired about their needs, even if they are from opposing sides,” she said.