–          PDP Blame President’s Rift With Tinubu

Controversy has broken over the security breach whereby some angry youths in Kano State hauled stones at the advance convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari during an official visit to  Kano with Bayo Onanuga, Spokesperson of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, dismissed the attacks and calling it something “imaginary.”

Even though security was beefed up across the Kano metropolis with heavy security presence mounted on the routes leading to Ahmadu Bello Way where the President launched Galaxy Backbone Limited’s project and seven others, angry youths holding stones of various sizes and wielding sticks reportedly attacked Buhari’s convoy and helicopter as it hovered above them.

The President arrived at the Aminu Kano International airport in the morning and from there, he was conveyed by helicopter to the Palace of the Emir of Kano, Aminu Bayero.

Videos circulating on social media showed the moment the irate youths pelted stones at the helicopter believed to be conveying the President.

One video showed citizens angrily struggling with some unidentified security agents while a convoy made its way through their midst.

Another video showed a road littered with stones while teargas canisters were being fired to disperse the angry mob.

In one of the videos, a voice in the background said the people were angry at the President and decided to attack him with stones.

“This is Kano State. People are picking up stones and stoning the president here in Hotoro at exactly Hadeja-Jama’are River Basin. People are just stoning, saying the President won’t pass. Residents of Kano are angry. It is happening now in Hotoro,” the voice in the background said in Hausa.

“Oh my God! This is even before his arrival; see plenty stones on the streets,” a voice in another video said.

Reacting to the incident in a statement, Debo Ologunagba, PDP Spokesperson, described the alleged incident as treason and sacrilege.

“This organised attack on the person of the President is outrightly treasonable and a sacrilegious assault on our national sovereignty which must be condemned by all,” the PDP said.

“Our Party is alarmed that this attack is part of APC Presidential Candidate’s alleged plot to undermine the Presidency, cause confusion, trigger violence in the country, disrupt the conduct of the 2023 general elections and derail our democracy; having realised that he cannot win in a peaceful, free and fair electoral process.

“The PDP invites Nigerians to note how Governor Abdullahi Ganduje attempted to abridge President Buhari’s movement and even tried to stop him from visiting Kano State. More disquieting is the fact that the APC Presidential Campaign sought to humiliate and harm President Buhari, while performing his official duties in Kano.

“It should be noted that the APC Presidential Candidate has been displaying open aversion and making inciting statements against President Buhari since Mr. President’s declaration, in line with democratic best practice all over the world, that Nigerians should freely vote for any candidate and Party of their choice in the 2023 general elections.

“The apparent frustration of Asiwaju Tinubu to resort to encourage or condone violence is fueled by his entitlement mentality, that it is his turn to be President, despite his numerous ineligibility and disability baggage.

“Nigerians are reminded about Asiwaju Tinubu’s infamous statement in London where he declared to his supporters that ‘political power is not going to be served in a restaurant, it is not served a la carte. It is what we are doing; It is being determined; you do it at all cost; fight for it, grab it, snatch it and run with it’.”

However, Bayo Onanuga, Spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, in dismissing the claim of the attack and criticised the PDP for reacting to something “imaginary,” said: “We were not surprised to read of the imaginary attack on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria being peddled by the Peoples Democratic Party since the party has nothing tangible to tell Nigerians from its crumbling Presidential Campaign.

“This invented attack on President Muhammadu Buhari must have happened only in the fertile imagination of PDP National Publicity Secretary, one Debo Ologunagba.

“Nigerians should disregard this fake news from a party that has lost touch with reality and suffering the agony of violating its own rules on power rotation.

 “Just as it has been masterminding fake news against the APC Presidential candidate and trying vainly to cause disharmony in the APC family, we believe the party may have planned to embarrass President Buhari in Kano and then put the blame on host Governor Ganduje and Tinubu.

“This is because PDP has of recent morphed from being a Buhari virulent critic to strangely becoming a Buhari spokesperson! The last time it issued a self-serving misinterpretation of Asíwájú’s statement in Abeokuta as an attack on President Buhari.

“It should be quite obvious to Nigerians that the knowledge of impending defeat of PDP at the coming presidential poll has pushed the party and its candidate into frenzied hallucinatory mode of mindless, ridiculous, ludicrous litany of lies and fabrications against APC and its candidate.

“The PDP is a drowning party feverishly clawing at any straw of lies and lashing out in all delusional directions to keep afloat – but sink it will. We believe Nigerians are not taken in by the jejune antics.”

Onanuga also asked security agencies to “arrest” Ologunagba over his comments regarding the alleged attack.