Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Presidency of sponsoring fabricated stories to tarnish his image.
This is coming as a clarification for an earlier publication declaring his readiness to “prioritize the Yorubas” if elected president.
Atiku, in a statement issued by his media aide Paul Ibe, dissociated himself from one Kola Johnson, who has allegedly been issuing statements in his name.
The statement stressed that Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), “has never engaged Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate.”
“Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorized statements on Atiku,” the statement read.
It described as “particularly offensive” a false claim credited to Johnson that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group, saying it was part of a propaganda project to ridicule him.
Atiku urged Nigerians and media houses to disregard such publications, warning that only statements released through the Atiku Media Office, signed by Paul Ibe or his Special Assistant on Public Communications, should be considered authentic.
He further cautioned editors and journalists to remain vigilant against what he described as “propaganda schemes of the Tinubu administration.”