Saraki’s aide says trending audio of senate president was doctored

Olu Onemola, aide to Senate President Bukola Saraki on new media, says a trending audio recording of his principal is fake.

In the recording, Saraki was quoted as saying he spent between N200 million and N400 million in each of 30 states on the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

The senate president also purportedly accused Buhari of punishing the people of Kwara state by starving them of appointments.

But in a series of tweets on Saturday, Onemola said the recording was released by “online henchmen and mercenary influencers”.

He said it is a doctored audio file meant to mislead the public.



“For the record: we always restrain from responding to inconsequential issues that we can otherwise ignore. However, in order to put this issue to rest so that we can move on to real issues, these are the facts,” he tweeted,

“The audio recording that is being circulated online by known anti-Saraki henchmen is a doctored recording. It was probably part of the mix of manipulations that APC decided to employ for today’s election in four LGAs in Kwara south.

“Dr. Saraki, in his response to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2018, stated emphatically that he left the APC because the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist”.

“Additionally, in that same response to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr. Saraki emphasized that he “never discussed any such personal and pecuniary benefits with anybody.” Again, we still challenge that anybody who has contrary facts should come forward.

“Finally, we ask the public to understand that in their desperation to hang on to power, agents of the ruling party are stooping to new lows by doctoring and releasing such audio files. We expect more of such desperate moves. Fake news, remains fake news. Their lies remain lies.”

For the record: we always restrain from responding to inconsequential issues that we can otherwise ignore. However, in order to put this issue to rest so that we can move on to real issues, these are the facts: #Thread https://t.co/H4OJz3cXk1

— Olu W. Onemola (@OnemolaOlu) November 17, 2018

The audio recording that is being circulated online by known anti-Saraki henchmen is a doctored recording. It was probably part of the mix of manipulations that APC decided to employ for today's election in four LGAs in Kwara South.

— Olu W. Onemola (@OnemolaOlu) November 17, 2018

Dr. Saraki, in his response to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2018, stated emphatically that he left the APC because “the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist".

— Olu W. Onemola (@OnemolaOlu) November 17, 2018