Saraki’s aide dismisses viral audio, says it is fake

chika ebuzor

November 18, 2018 10:48 AM

Onemola, the new media aide to the Senate President also said that the audio recording is a doctored file meant to mislead the public.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

Olu Onemola, the Special Assistant on New Media to Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has reacted to the viral audio recording that recently surfaced on social media.

In the audio recording Saraki allegedly claimedthat he sponsored Buhari’s campaign in 2015.

He allegedly said “Use me as an example. In 2015, or maybe 2014-2015, when we left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and began to work devotedly for the All Progressives Congress (APC), we went round.

“There is no state in Nigeria that I did not go to campaign for Buhari. Up to the time of the election in 2015 I was still campaigning. Even days before the Saturday election, out of 36 states, I paid money for the elections in 30 states.

“I disbursed several amounts, ranging from N200m to N400m. The states I didn’t know anything about, were the states in the South-West.

“I was putting calls through to my bank and giving payment instructions.”

Fake audio

Reacting to reports, Onemola described the audio as fake, adding that it was released by online henchmen and mercenary influencers.

The new media aide to the Senate President also said that the audio recording is a doctored file meant to mislead the public.

He made this known in a statement which he issued on Twitter from the handle, @OnemolaOlu.

According to him, the “Senate President has previously reiterated the reasons why he left APC, hence, the fake recording was the work of desperate agents of the ruling party, the APC.”

He said “For the record: we always restrain from responding to inconsequential issues that we can otherwise ignore. However, in order to put this issue to rest so that we can move on to real issues, these are the facts:

“The audio recording that is being circulated online by known anti-Saraki henchmen is a doctored recording. It was probably part of the mix of manipulations that APC decided to employ for today's election in four LGAs in Kwara South.

“We will not allow people like @Ogundamisi and other mercenary “influencers” to create false and mischievous impressions that may easily be consumed by the otherwise unsuspecting public.

“Dr. Saraki, in his response to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2018, stated emphatically that he left the APC because 'the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist'.

“Additionally, in that same response to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr. Saraki emphasized that he ‘never discussed any such personal and pecuniary benefits with anybody.’ Again, we still challenge that anybody who has contrary facts should come forward.

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“Finally, we ask the public to understand that in their desperation to hang on to power, agents of the ruling party are stooping to new lows by doctoring and releasing such audio files. We expect more of such desperate moves. Fake news, remains fake news. Their lies remain lies.”

Senate President Bukola Saraki dumped the ruling APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in July 2018.

chika ebuzor