Magnus Abe, candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 Rivers governorship election, has said those currently celebrating President-elect Bola Tinubu stoned him in the past.

When Tinubu paid a 2-day working visit to Rivers this week, he was given a grand reception.

The incoming president also commissioned some projects executed by the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike.

However, Abe, an ally of Tinubu, accused Wike of unleashing violence on the people of the state.

The Rivers government fired back at Abe, saying he was yet to recover from the loss of the March 18 gubernatorial election.

But responding in a statement, Abe said Tinubu knows the high-level violence being perpetrated in the state, adding that the President-elect was a victim of the violence as he was stoned at Port Harcourt airport in 2015.

He said; “I had prepared a lengthy statement in response to the diatribe against me at the state dinner last night. However, having spoken with some mutual friends and out of respect for the fact that the President-Elect, His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu is still in Rivers State, I have decided to hold my peace.

“Just to set the records straight, His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu himself knows from experience that I am not a liar and that I didn’t collect money from him or anyone and just put in my pocket. When I talked about the violence unleashed on Rivers people he knows am telling the truth because he has been a victim himself.

“He was stoned at that same airport in 2015 when he came here with then General Buhari, so he has tasted that experience; those who arranged to stone him and those who stoned him were at the dinner.

“Over the past eight years, Rivers State Government has spent over a trillion naira on live coverage across all major television networks, yet the 10 minutes I appear on TV can spoil someone’s appetite at a state dinner.

“Flyovers and free and fair elections are not mutually exclusive, we can have both; in fact, we did not have to substitute flyovers for every thing else including education for our children, promotion for our civil servants, respect for our citizens and traditional rulers, and a clear plan for the growth of our young population.

“That was the reason a non existent party led by a man who was neither a Governor, nor a sitting Senator was able to capture the massive support and goodwill of Rivers people within three months.”

I have withdrawn my petition at the election tribunal, and am at peace, please let us all allow peace to reign,” he said.