Adewale said: “That bullion van missed its way there and it was not invited by Asiwaju or anybody.”
By Emma Ogbuehi
Mr. Ayodele Adewale, the Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has claimed that the bullion vans spotted in 2019 entering the house of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the party, on the eve of the 2019 presidential poll, only “missed its way there.”
There were, however, two vans, not one
“That bullion van missed its way there, and it was not invited by Asiwaju or anybody,” Adewale said on Arise TV Thursday morning.
In February 2019, viral pictures on social media showed two bullion vans being driven into Tinubu’s Bourdillon residence in Lagos on the eve of the presidential election, as many people looked on — just outside the residence.
Adewale’s statement, however, runs counter to Tinubu’s claims then.
The APC presidential candidate had acknowledged that the vans he had parked in his Bourdillon home on election eve did indeed contain money and not ballot papers or money for vote-buying as alleged by some Nigerians.
Tinubu said he was at liberty to bring his money to his house while addressing reporters in 2019.
“Excuse me, is it my money or government money? So, even if I have money to spend in my premises, what is your headache?” he had said.
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“Excuse me, if I don’t represent any agency of government and I have money to spend, if I have money, if I like, I give it to the people free of charge. As long as not to buy votes.
“So, who are those watching my house and looking at bullion vans? They must be mischief makers, they report falsehood, their lies are numerous, and it’s because they are jobless.”
So many Nigerians had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), asking the agency to probe the matter.
But speaking during an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Thursday, the Lagos APC organising secretary said the vans “missed the address to have come there.”
“On the matter of the bullion van, I think that matter has been put to rest. There was no money in the bullion van. The bullion van that even came missed the address to have come there. It wasn’t on an election day. The bullion van missed the address to have come there,” he said.
He said Tinubu joked when he admitted that the money in the vans was his.
“That bullion van missed its way there and it was not invited by Asiwaju or anybody,” he added.