The Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has raised concerns about an alleged plot to associate her with street protests occurring in Abuja.
On Thursday, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, claimed that a serving Senator has been financially supporting the organizers of the ongoing protests.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Kennedy Mbele, Senator Kingibe denied any involvement or connection with the masterminds behind the protests. Referring to a trending video, Senator Kingibe stated, “The video being circulated is over six weeks old, taken during a Labour Party NWC meeting while the NLC was protesting outside the Labour Party office.
“As stakeholders, including Senators, House of Representatives members, and Mr. Peter Obi, we went out to engage with the protesters and address their concerns.
“Now, these deceitful individuals are attempting to present this old footage as current, falsely claiming that Mr. Peter Obi and I led protests in Abuja yesterday.”
He urged Nigerians to disregard the claims of his involvement in the ongoing protests as “blatant lies and misinformation spread by mischief-makers!”
“This is a malicious and desperate attempt to discredit us. Let me set the record straight: Mr. Peter Obi is not in Abuja, and I haven’t left my house since Wednesday due to illness, much less distributed food and water at the protest grounds, although that would be noble for whoever did.
“I condemn this orchestrated effort to spread falsehoods and create confusion, using it as a basis to assert that I sponsored the Abuja protest.
“It is a shameless and irresponsible act that will not be tolerated. We will not stand idly by while our names and reputations are dragged through the mud by these unscrupulous individuals.”