Florence Uwaeme
The Governorship Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP in Rivers State, Magnus Abe, has slammed Governor Nyesom Wike for telling lies against him at the state banquet organized in honour of Bola Tinubu.
Abe, who withdrew his petition at the election petition tribunal denied collecting and pocketing funds provided by Tinubu for the presidential election.
He also reiterated that the election in the state was marred by violence.
He said, “I had prepared a lengthy statement in response to the rant 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.
“To set the records straight, His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu knows from experience that I am not a liar and didn’t collect money from him or anyone and just put it in my pocket.
“When I talked about the violence unleashed on Rivers people, he knew I was telling the truth because he had 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 why a non-existent party led by a man who was neither a Governor nor a sitting Senator could capture the massive support and goodwill of Rivers people within three months.
“I have withdrawn my petition at the election tribunal and am at peace; please let us all allow peace to reign”
