STONING JONATHAN: FCT minister, not APC masterminded Bauchi attack — Yuguda

Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and Senator Bala Mohammed, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were weekend, locked in an exchange of words following the governor's claim that the minister hired the thugs that stoned the president's convoy in Bauchi last Thursday.

Following the stoning, the presidency had flayed the actions just as a number of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftains had accused the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, of instigating attacks on the president in the north.

Governor Yuguda, however, rebutted the claim as he told Vanguard, weekend, that the stoning of the president's convoy was instigated by Senator Mohammmed to embarrass him, Yuguda, as not being on ground in the state.

Both men, members of the PDP and associates of the president, were present at the PDP presidential campaign rally in Bauchi following which the president's convoy was pelted with stones. The minister was also pelted during the rally.

The APC, last night, said it was vindicated by the development as it thanked the governor for his revelation, recalling it had earlier claimed the stoning incidents were fallouts from the governorship primaries in the PDP states.

Yuguda told Vanguard in an interview that the FCT minister secretly imported the thugs to cause trouble at the venue of the campaign rally in Buachi last Thursday to give the president the erroneous impression that he (Yuguda) was not on ground in the state.

He said: “The whole thing was carefully planned and implemented by the FCT Minister in collaboration with his cohorts who wanted to embarrass me and prove to President Jonathan that they were more politically relevant in Bauchi State than the sitting governor.

“The minister and his group sponsored small boys of not more than seven years of age and gave them brooms to give the impression that they were from the opposition party whereas they were all wearing T-shirts branded with his name and that of TAN.

“Before the arrival of the boys, the presidential rally was going on smoothly. When they entered the venue they started signing “Sai Jonathan”, “Sai Jonathan” only for them to begin to chant “ Sai Buhari”, “Sai Buhari” to the bewilderment of all present.

“I feel very bad over the sad incident caused by Bala and his group to discredit me and all that I have been able to accomplish in Bauchi. I must say that I am very sad and disappointed by the antics of the minister.”