Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has denied ordering journalists in Plateau State to leave during his meeting with delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The presidential aspirant visited PDP secretariat in Jos on Monday and ordered journalists out of the building, saying, “I have nothing to do with journalists. I’m here to see delegates.”
Following his statement, security personnel manhandled journalists, causing a stampede which resulted in the damage of the tripod and camera of the Channels Television crew.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, the leader of Atiku’s presidential campaign team Raymond Dokpesi denied that the press was prevented from covering Atiku’s deliberations with the delegates.
He said the presidential aspirant only pleaded that the media excuse the meeting, and return for interviews after the consultation and apologised over the manner the security operatives handled the situation.
Dokpesi appealed to journalists not to misinterpret the intention of the former Vice President, saying the media have always been part of his agenda.
Atiku recently came under criticism for deleting a tweet from his Twitter handle which condemned the lynching of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
