Tinubu counters Magnus Abe's stoning incident claim in Rivers

Abe, formerly of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a strong Tinubu supporter, had recently claimed that the President-elect was stoned at the Port Harcourt airport when he came to canvass for votes for the candidacy of then-General Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 election.

It'd be recalled that Tinubu, at the instance of Governor Nyesom Wike, was in Rivers State this week for a two-day visit during which he commissioned a road project and court building.

Pulse reports that Wike, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, threw a State Banquet to honour the President-elect on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, and the occasion was well attended by chieftains across all political parties.

Reacting to Tinubu's visit to Rivers, Abe in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, May 4, 2023, claimed that those who stoned the former Lagos State governor were the same people who attended the dinner organised for him by the state government.

The Senator said “violence” had been unleashed on Rivers people and alleged that Tinubu was “aware” of it because he (Tinubu) was once a “victim”.

Abe's message 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 everything 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.”

But, Tinubu’s Media Aide, Tunde Rahman, described the claim attributed to Abe as “fake news”.

Responding to an inquiry by The Punch, the media aide said “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.”