National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has denied having any interest in Act Technologies as alleged in a recent media report.
According to a story by Sahara Reporters, Tinubu allegedly used the company, which got contracts from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2015 general election, to influence the outcome of the polls.
However, Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, has come out to distance himself from the organisation, describing the story as a handiwork of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement titled “Response to Allegations in Saharareporters” and released by his media office, the former Lagos governor further described the story as “false and reckless”.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a false and reckless story published online by Sahara Reporters wrongfully accusing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of electoral malpractice and incorrectly linking him with a company known as Act Technologies Limited.
“If lies were sand, this story would be a desert. Perhaps the only thing this story manages to get correct is the spelling of Asiwaju’s name. However, the story is but an unfortunate and crude attempt to malign Asiwaju’s name.
“Asiwaju has absolutely no relation to, or interest in, Act Technologies Limited. He had never even heard of the company until the PDP (and its cronies in the media) started this campaign of calumny a few days ago.
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“Moreover, Asiwaju has never been involved in the supply of card readers, voter registration and accreditation frameworks or any other materials or services to INEC. Never.
“Let us be clear in this matter. If any political party was in control of INEC’s procurement practices in 2014/2015, it would have been the one in control of the federal government at that time.
“Asiwaju never asked for, nor did he receive, anything or any contract from Jonathan’s government.
“As incompetent as his administration was, even President Jonathan would not have sat idly by while important electoral contracts were being handed over to his most implacable political foe.
“As often happens with fiction concocted by amateurs, the application of a little common sense causes the entire story to fall apart.
“Even the technological aspects of the report are fantastical and unfounded. The whole thing simply makes no sense from a technical point of view. The report only makes sense as part of a concerted effort to attack Asiwaju.
“Why the PDP and their media boosters fear him so much, we leave for them to answer. But it is odd that they expend so much time and energy manufacturing falsehoods against someone whose name will not even appear on any ballot.
“This story is simply another effort by those opposed to President Buhari and the APC to justify their plans to distort the elections by alleging that the APC government is illegitimate and was rigged into office.
“The only problem being that the facts do not support their claims nor their rationale for cheating.
“These people are incurable. They do not rig because they were once victimised by rigging; they rig because rigging is not only in their blood, it is their blood.
“Such arrant nonsense has no place in our national discourse.
“Sahara Reporters has descended to a new low. To publish such an unfounded report is more than shoddy journalism; it is malicious.
“The publication and its editors should be ashamed.”