Former President Goodluck Jonathan has dismissed as false a media report alleging that he was offered ₦500 billion to contest the presidency against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Peter Obi, to split votes in the South-South region.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Media, Dr Ikechukwu Eze, described the publication as “entirely false and baseless,” urging Nigerians to disregard the report.
Eze said the story, published by what he described as a “little-known” website, falsely attributed a statement to the former president claiming he was offered the money to enter the presidential race.
According to him, the report failed to meet the basic standards of journalism, noting that it did not indicate where or when Jonathan allegedly made the claim, identify witnesses, or state who purportedly made the offer.
“The report failed to state where or when Jonathan allegedly made such a claim, who was present or who purportedly made the alleged offer,” Eze said.
He added that the publication bore “all the hallmarks of fake news” deliberately designed to mislead the public and draw the former president into unnecessary political controversy.
