The office of a former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has debunked alleged claims made by a group identified as the All Progressives Congress, APC Elders Council that its principal is seeking to nominate a candidate from Bayelsa State to serve as a minister in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A statement issued by the Media Aide of the ex-president, Ikechukwu Eze, on Wednesday, described the publication as false, malicious, and unnecessary while noting that the Bayelsa APC Elders Council is an unknown structure of the ruling party in the state.
According to Eze, it is the handiwork of low-profile politicians who wrongly misinterpreted Jonathan’s recent visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja and advised Nigerians to disregard it as fake news.
The former President, who is ECOWAS mediator in Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS Council of the Wise, clearly explained that he had gone to brief President Bola Tinubu, who has just been elected as the Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, on the recent developments in the sub-region. the statement added.
In his words.” Our attention has been drawn to a strange allegation in the media claiming that former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is seeking to nominate a minister from Bayelsa State for the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We would have ordinarily ignored the falsehood, given that neither the authors who are shadowy characters nor their nebulous organisation, Bayelsa APC Elders Council, which is unknown to the structure of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, command any credibility. However, we have continued to receive calls from friends and well-wishers who are concerned that some innocent Nigerians might be misled by the duplicitous fabrication; hence this rebuttal.
“We state without equivocation that the publication is false, malicious, preposterous and unnecessary. It is instructive that the authors of the hackery who are quick to spin such unfounded narrative could neither provide any clarification on the nature of the alleged consultations nor name the beneficiary of the envisaged nomination.
“We can only guess that a handful of faltering low-profile politicians might have wrongly misinterpreted Jonathan’s recent visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja as political lobbying, even when the former President, who is ECOWAS mediator in Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS Council of the Wise, clearly explained that he had gone to brief President Bola Tinubu, who has just been elected as the Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, on the recent developments in the sub-region.
“The publication is simply a tactless ramble by some benighted politicians seeking to draw attention to their hopeless plight by raising malicious allegations against the former President. Howbeit, they have failed in this bid because most astute politicians within and outside Bayelsa State are well aware of Jonathan’s selfless and exemplary disposition to politics and statesmanship. Such people will never subscribe to the cheap blackmail from the so-called Bayelsa APC Elders Council.
“Why do we think that their futile antics sounded familiar? It is because the spurious allegation seems to have been cut out of the same worn fabric woven by those unfortunate politicians who regularly hurled the most acerbic missiles at Dr. Jonathan, while he was in office as President.
“Today, they remain pitiable characters because all their efforts to sully the reputation of the former President have been in vain, as his image has continued to soar, both locally and internationally.
“While we once again dismiss the claim as untrue, we advise Nigerians to ignore mischief makers and their web of fake news because of the danger they pose to the peace and healthy growth of our nation.”
