Senator Bukola Saraki has denied claims he is funding the production of a sleaze documentary on an alleged love triangle involving President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife and Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke.
The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation had alleged on Wednesday that Mr. Saraki and two serving All Progressives Congress governors were planning to sponsor and fund a damaging documentary about the private lives of the three titled, Dirty Love Triangle Between President Jonathan, Patience and Diezani.
However, a statement by his media aide, Bamikole Omisore, Thursday, said the senator, who is an APC member, was not aware of any love triangle between the president and the two women in question and therefore, had not been and would not be involved in anyway, manner or process of such a documentary.
“Senator Saraki has always centred all his argument on issues that affect the lives of Nigerians,” Mr. Omisore said. “Such issues include but are not limited to unemployment, mismanagement of public funds, and non-implementation of the budgetary provisions just to name a few.
“These are the things that affect Nigerians and as a Senator of the Federal Republic these are the issues Nigerians want the Senators to debate and not the private affairs of Mr. President.
“On the contrary it has been PDP that has been attacking the private lives of our presidential candidate and personal affairs of our leaders in the APC. We have maintained a certain respectable decorum in both the use of language and material in every campaign.”
The statement said Mr. Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, was aware that the PDP was pushing such a ridiculous story as a way of blackmailing members of the opposition with spurious and cooked-up allegations.
“For the avoidance of doubt we have concrete evidence at our disposal to the effect that the recent bad press Senator Saraki has been receiving lately surrounding an old issue of over a number of years involving a bank loan and company called Joy Petroleum, are directly orchestrated by the presidency particularly documents sent by email to the judiciary correspondents for their use,” Mr. Omisore said.
“Senator Saraki is aware that the PDP has been going around Kwara State bribing and begging people to partake in a documentary against him to cause disaffection in the eyes of the public having adjudged him a threat in the forthcoming general elections.
“So it’s funny to now hear that the same party that’s organising such a documentary and from the beginning of this campaign have threaded on this dishonourable course using their own words should be accusing others of what they intend to do.”
The statement said the alarm raised by the PDP on the planned documentary was just a diversionary tactic in preparation of a bigger plan.
It said Mr. Saraki was not aware of any “love-triangle,” describing the allegation as baseless and lacking in substance.
“I want to reassure all our supporters that as you know this is not our trade in stock and should disregard this false alarm,” Mr. Omisore said. “Senator Saraki will like to warn all those still scheming to carry out this false documentary on him that he will fight back and legally defend himself and warn those in glass houses whose past particularly as regards their private lives is not honourable should steer clear and be warned. We have restrained ourselves not because we don’t have the capacity but because we have pledged that this election will be about issues.”
Mr. Saraki, according to the statement congratulated members and non-members of the APC but “rejected such evil offer because it is glaring that Nigerians are more concerned about issues that matter to them such as how to get jobs for their children, food on their table and security of their lives and properties and not the love triangle documentary or any of the derogatory attacks and documentary against opposition being sponsored by PDP.”