Saraki slams media, says he was not stoned

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has expressed his displeasure with reports in the media that he was stoned during the prayers to mark the Eid-el-Kabir in Ilorin, Kwara State.

In a statement issued by the media office of the Senate President, titled: “Senate President not attacked” Saraki noted that there was a protest over non-payment of local government employees but that he was not stoned.

Read full statement below:

The attention of the Media Office of the Senate President has been drawn to media reports that the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was allegedly attacked at the Eid Prayer Ground during the prayers to mark the Eid-el-Kabir in Ilorin.

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.

We however observe that there was a protest allegedly staged by local government employees over purported non-payment of salaries which hoodlums attempted to hijacked but this development was immediately curtailed by security agents.

Therefore, to say that the Senate President was attacked at the venue of the prayers is totally false and a figment of the imagination of those behind the story because the protest was never targeted at him, neither was any missile hurled at him.

The Kwara State Government has since issued a statement in which it stated that majority of the workers in the state have received their salaries and that those yet to receive theirs will do so on Monday as Thursday and Friday of this week are public holidays.