Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former minister of finance, has warned politicians to desist from using her name to spread falsehood.
In a statement issued on her behalf by Paul Nwabuikwu, her spokesman, the former minister said some groups and individuals had used her name to further their political objectives.
The statement said such falsehood is being disseminated on social media showing the former minister supporting one political interest or the other.
“This misuse of the minister’s name comes in many forms. There are fake newspaper articles published under her name,” the statement read.
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“Fake quotations canvassing certain views which are falsely attributed to her. Even fake audios in which someone pretends to be the former finance minister have been going round.
“Most of these are typically disseminated on WhatsApp and other forms of social media. In one recent example, a video of the minister was cleverly edited, leaving out crucial information and context to give a totally false impression.
“These shenanigans are designed to give the impression that she supports one particular political interest or position or the other. We urge Nigerians to ignore these mischievous antics by political peddlers of fiction.
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“Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is very capable of speaking for herself if and when she wants to and does not need the help of anyone to do that.
“In this political season of forged and fake news, we urge the media and the public to crosscheck the authenticity of any quotations, articles, audios and videos attributed to Dr Okonjo-Iweala before giving them credence or going public with them.
“If it does not come directly from Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s twitter account then kindly discount it.”
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7 comments
Some people don’t just have jobs, all what they do in their miserable life is to bring others down,but you know what, wait for it, the thunder that will fire you people, is in ore doing press up.
We love you NOI, and some people should go and kill themselves on your matter.
Iweala you remain undefeated economic minister in Nigeria
It is so unfortunate that people keep using your name and reputation to spread lies and falsehood. It is because they realize your words carry a lot of weight! Stay strong madam. The smart ones know what you can and what you cannot say.
I have to commend NOI’s media team for always being timely and professional. They always ensure the truth never get colored and always getting the debunking fake news that now seems to be a mischievous political tool widely employed.
Yeah, we know it’s the time for fake news to thrive, but I’m glad the woman is out and telling her side of the story. Your fallacy and balderdash are part of the reason she is granting those interviews, writing those books etc.
When you think about one of the brave policies Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pioneered while in office by ensuring publication of government accounts, especially the ECA monthly, and you juxtapose that with what we have today, you sigh and breathe rather irrationally, because of our penchant of going around in circles. We take one step forward and take several backwards. God bless Nigeria