The Rivers State Government, which is led by Nyesom Wike, has denied that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), gave him a senatorial ticket.
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Wike said in a statement released on Saturday by his Special Assistant for Media, Kelvin Ebiri, that he did not make such a statement during his media chat on Friday.
In an interview that was shown live on four TV stations, Ebiri criticized some national newspapers and online newspapers for allegedly making up such stories.
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He said:
“We want to say very clearly that this news is false, has no basis, and is ridiculous. The Rivers State governor never mentioned the name of the APC presidential candidate or even hinted that he might offer him a senatorial ticket during the media chat.
“To get to the bottom of things, we’ve decided to put the transcript of what governor Wike said about senatorial form here.
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“First of all, this is how you can find out who is ready to run for office. Some of them filled out forms for both the presidency and the Senate at the same time. You’ll know that they’re not really going to run.
“I’ve never filled out a senatorial application. Even after everything, people told me I should run for Senate. I told them no. I’m not going to do that. I’ve already promised that this Senate ticket should go to this area (Etche) because they’ve never had it before. I can’t be in charge.”
“In a time when politics are getting more and more divisive, people are very likely to twist the truth. Because of this, we want to remind journalists that the first thing they have to do is tell the truth.
“At this important time for our country, we want to remind journalists that getting the facts right is the most important thing they can do. Journalists are told to always try to get their stories right and include all the important facts in their stories.
“Because of this, we asked the public not to believe these false, unfounded, and ill-intentioned reports.”