Former vice president of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over social media users using his name to commit online fraud.
Mr Abubakar in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe, said he is not connected to the online broadcast circulating around the country.
“We wish to bring to the attention of Nigerians that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not connected to a certain notice circulating on social media directing unsuspecting members of the public to a link.”
“We thus state categorically that any such link asking for the bio-data of Nigerians as beneficiaries of a monetary handout is FAKE.”
“This is obviously a SCAM, an attempt to fleece and defraud Nigerians by, perhaps, collecting their vital bio-data for a nefarious objective orchestrated by masterminds of the advertisement on social media.”
“Atiku Abubakar, his businesses or charity organization is not in the know of this purported plan and the accompanying advertorial. The website address, https//www.atikufoundation.online, given by the scammers for individuals to apply, is unknown to the former Vice President.”
“As a patriotic and law-abiding citizen, the Waziri Adamawa had pledged his modest public donation to the Federal Government through the Priam Group to support the government’s effort in fighting the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria and in providing succour to the most vulnerable of people amid the ravaging pandemic.”
“In addition, he had proposed a stimulus package for the most vulnerable for consideration by the government.”
“We hereby call on relevant security agencies to endeavor to unmask these scammers and ensure that they are brought to book and their evil plots against Nigerians nipped in the bud.”
“The official website of the former Vice President is www.atiku.org while his social media handles are as follows:
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Atiku.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/atiku
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aatiku