Senator Remi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central has said she never referred to Arinola Oloko, an educationist as a thug in Lagos State, venue of the Constitution Review public hearing for South West.
Senator Tinubu had vowed she won’t apologize for what she said after the video, in which she was seen involved in a shouting match, surfaced on the Internet on Thursday.
Tinubu is leading the Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution in the South-West and it was reported that residents queued to register before they were allowed into the venue of the event.
However, when the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, came in through the back door, the front door was shut and the registration closed.
Those who were yet to register were said to have stayed in the queue, protesting their exclusion from the event.
Some lawmakers from Oyo State, who passed the queue and were about to be ushered into the programme, were allegedly followed by some residents, causing a commotion.
Tinubu was said to have shown up at the backdoor to allow the lawmakers in.
However, Oloko, who reportedly complained about being denied entry, was said to have decried the partial treatment and voiced out her frustration.
The senator, after beckoning on her and two others, reportedly called the woman a thug for speaking too loud.
The remark was said to have caused an altercation between Tinubu and those who heard her.
While expressing their reservation for the tag on the woman, the people demanded an apology from Tinubu.
“I didn’t call the lady a thug. I could not have called her a thug. I asked a rhetorical question. And you would agree with me that anybody who came and made the kind of brilliant presentation she made before us at the public sitting could not have been a thug,” Tinubu said.
However, the Lagos Senator regretted her intervention was misinterpreted when she heard of the commotion at the point of entry into the public sitting.
“I’m sorry, however, if some have misinterpreted my intervention when I heard of the commotion at the point of entry into the public sitting,” the Senator said.
Earlier, Oloko had explained what actually transpired between herself and Senator Tinubu at the venue of the public hearing.
Oloko gave the explanation on Friday, while reacting to the matter on a national television program monitored by our reporter.
The educanist explained, saying: “When we got there [venue of the public hearing], we were told the hall was filled and we demanded for speakers to enable us outside to hear what was happening inside and that is it. The rest is captured in the video”.
Oloko further stated that the public hearing in the South West was not properly organized and that a new constitution is what is needed, and not an amendment.
“I am not a criminal ma, was my response; because I can’t be, because I am not a violent person.
“The whole exercise is not properly organized. How will you use Marriott Hotel in Ikeja after inviting several people and you now claim that the hall can only take 256 people.
“We want a new constitution because this one has a faulty foundation. Once a foundation is faulty what do you expect. So, we need a new one to accommodate transparency, accountability and autonomy”.
