Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has denied reports that he was booed and pelted with stones at the Prayer ground where he had gone, in company of other prominent personalities, to offer Eid-el-Kabir prayers in Ilorin, Kwara state on Thursday.
In a statement by Saraki’s spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President was never booed nor pelted with stones at the prayer ground, but arrived and left the venue “without any incident”.
According to him, “The Senate President arrived at the venue this morning without any incident, prayed with other Muslim faithful, including the Emir of Ilorin, His Royal Highness (HRH), Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Ali Ahmad and a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore, among others.
“Before the Senate President left the prayer ground, he spoke to reporters who had asked him about his message for Nigerians to mark the Eid-el-Kabir.
“We want to say that nothing can be further from the truth as the Senate President was never attacked nor was there any attempt made on his life to warrant him being ‘whisked away’ as reported by a section of the media.”
This statement by the Senate President’s spokesperson negates an earlier statement by the Kwara State Government that vehemently condemned but confirmed an attack on dignitaries in the state.
The protesters had allegedly called the Senate President names and pelted his convoy with stones and sachet water.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Abdulwahab Oba, the government accused aggrieved politicians of colluding with some local government council employees to embarrass dignitaries in the state under the pretext of protesting salary arrears at the local government level.