Tinubu’s Rivers allies ‘stoned’ him in 2015

The Rivers State Social Democratic Party governorship candidate in the last general election, Senator Magnus Abe, has alleged that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, was stoned at the Port Harcourt airport by some of his current allies in 2015.

He claimed those who stoned the former Lagos State governor when he was in Rivers to seek support for the candidacy of then-Major General Muhammadu Buhari were the same people who were present at a dinner organised for him by the state government on Wednesday night.

The PUNCH reports that Tinubu was in Rivers State during the week on the invitation of Governor Nyesom Wike to inaugurate some projects.

But in a statement shared on his Facebook page on Thursday, Abe claimed that “violence” had been unleashed on Rivers people and alleged that Tinubu was “aware” of it because he (Tinubu) was once a “victim”.

The statement titled, ‘How Times change’, read, “I had prepared a lengthy statement in response to the diatribe against me at the state dinner last night. However, having spoken with some mutual friends and out of respect for the fact that the President-Elect, His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu, is still in Rivers State, I have decided to hold my peace.

“Just to set the records straight, His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu himself knows from experience that I am not a liar and that I didn’t collect money from him or anyone and just put in my pocket.

“When I talked about the violence unleashed on Rivers people, he knows I am telling the truth because he has been a victim himself.

“He was stoned at that same airport in 2015 when he came here with then General Buhari, so he has tasted that experience; those who arranged to stone him and those who stoned him were at the dinner.

“Over the past eight years, Rivers State Government has spent over a trillion naira on live coverage across all major television networks, yet the 10 minutes I appear on TV can spoil someone’s appetite at a state dinner.

“Flyovers and free and fair elections are not mutually exclusive, we can have both; in fact, we did not have to substitute flyovers for every thing else including education for our children, promotion for our civil servants, respect for our citizens and traditional rulers, and a clear plan for the growth of our young population.

“That was the reason a non-existent party led by a man who was neither a governor, nor a sitting Senator was able to capture the massive support and goodwill of Rivers people within three months.
I have withdrawn my petition at the election tribunal, and I am at peace, please let us all allow peace to reign.”

When contacted for a reaction, Tinubu’s Media Aide, Tunde Rahman, described the claim as a “fake news”.

“That is fake news! Senator Magnus Abe could not have said that. I challenge you to provide evidence where he said that. If you want to know, Senator Magnus Abe was among the dignitaries that saw the President-elect off to his plane when he was leaving Port Harcourt yesterday,” he said in a text message response to an inquiry by our correspondence on Friday.