Former President Abdulla Yameen, on the day of the presidential speedboat blast, allegedly did not sit down on his usual seat but instead gave the seat to his wife, the seat in question being the one that had exploded.

Ibrahim Muaz Ali, Yameen's former spokesperson, said this at a press conference on Wednesday night where he announced his resignation from Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

On 28 September 2015, an explosion occurred inside Yameen’s speedboat that had left then First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim injured. Yameen later claimed that it had been an assassinated attempt by his Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Muaz said that Yameen acted ‘weird’ before the explosion, even switching seats with his wife. Muaz said that the First Lady had fallen right near him after the blast and that while he tried to help her, Yameen was nowhere in sight. He said he then found Yameen with debris on his hair.

He also said that he did not see any fire after the explosion and was surprised to see fire come out of the speedboat in the video that was publicized by the investigative commission led by then Home Minister Umar Naseer.

Muaz said he was told that the scene was recorded by a videographer at the President’s Office, and then questioned why an employee would be recording the speedboat as it travels from Hulhumale’ to Male’.

Highlighting that the video could easily be edited, Muaz said that he has many suspicions regarding the case and that the new government needs to begin its own investigation.