Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Presidency of sponsoring a smear campaign against him by deploying hired mercenaries to issue false statements in his name.
In a statement on Thursday signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku dissociated himself from one Kola Johnson, who he said has been impersonating him by releasing unauthorised press statements.
“We have observed with concern a certain self-styled ‘media consultant,’ one Kola Johnson, issuing press releases in the name of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which, in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate stories and circulate unauthorised statements on Atiku,” the statement read.
Atiku described as “particularly offensive” a fabricated claim suggesting that his administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group, insisting such propaganda formed part of a coordinated disinformation effort to discredit him.
The former Vice President cautioned media organisations against publishing unverified stories, urging them to confirm all information through the Atiku Media Office (AMO).
“Authentic information from Atiku Abubakar is only released through the Atiku Media Office, signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, or the Special Assistant on Public Communications. Any statement issued in any other name is fake and should be disregarded,” Ibe emphasised.
Atiku further advised Nigerians and the press to remain alert to what he described as the Tinubu administration’s growing reliance on propaganda tactics.
