Former President Goodluck Jonathan has denied an allegation that he is seeking to nominate a minister from Bayelsa State for the government of President Bola Tinubu.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Jonathan’s media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, in a statement, said the allegation was “malicious, preposterous and unnecessary.”
Eze said the authors of the allegation could not provide any clarification on the nature of the alleged consultations or name the beneficiary of the envisaged nomination.
He said the allegation was likely the work of “benighted politicians” seeking to draw attention to their “hopeless plight” by raising malicious allegations against the former president.
Eze said Jonathan’s image had continued to soar locally and internationally and that all efforts to sully his reputation had been in vain.
He urged Nigerians to ignore the allegation and to be wary of “mischief makers and their web of fake news.”
The press statement signed by Eze reads:
“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 Tinubu.
“We would have ordinarily ignored the falsehood, given that neither the authors who are shadowy characters nor their nebulous organization, Bayelsa All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Council, which is unknown to the structure of the ruling party, the APC, 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, 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. How be it, 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.”
The allegation against Jonathan was made by the Bayelsa All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Council, a group that is not affiliated with the ruling party.
The group said it had received reports that Jonathan was consulting with party leaders in Bayelsa State about the nomination of a minister from the state.
The group said it was concerned that Jonathan was trying to use his influence to secure a ministerial appointment for a close associate.
