POLITICIANS MISINTERPRETE MY VISITS TO TINUBU – GOODLUCK JONATHAN
Former President Goodluck Jonathan said his visits to President Bola Tinubu have been misinterpreted by politicians.
Jonathan stated this on Wednesday in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Ikechukwu Eze.
The former President said the visits were intended to brief 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.
Recall that Jonathan himself is the Chairman of ECOWAS Council of the Wise.
Jonathan urged Nigerians to ignore what he termed āmischief makersā and their web of fake news because of the danger they āpose to the peace and healthy growth of our nationā.
He said, āOur 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.
āWe 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.
āHowever, 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.
āWe 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.
āWe can only guess that a handful of faltering low profile politicians might have wrongly misinterpreted Jonathanās 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.
āThe 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.
āHowbeit, they have failed in this bid because most astute politicians within and outside Bayelsa State are well aware of Jonathanās selfless and exemplary disposition to politics and statesmanship.
āSuch people will never subscribe to the cheap blackmail from the so-called Bayelsa APC Elders Council.
āWhy 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.
āToday, 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.
āWhile 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.ā
Meanwhile, the former president denied any move to influence the nomination of a minister from Bayelsa State in the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Recall that a group known as All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Council in Bayelsa state had raised alarm over the alleged move by the ex-Nigerian leader to influence the nomination of a ministerial slot from Bayelsa.
Jonathan, while reacting to the allegation, said some politicians in the state might have wrongly interpreted his recent visits to the Presidential Villa.