Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has denied a report alleging he was offered N500 billion to contest against the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, to split South-South votes.
A statement made available to journalists by Special Adviser on Media to Jonathan, on Sunday in Abuja, described the publication as entirely false and baseless.
Eze called on Nigerians to disregard what he described as a fabricated report published by a “little-known website” which “falsely” attributed a statement to Jonathan claiming that he was offered such an amount.
He noted that the fabrication lacked the most basic standards of journalism.
“The report failed to state where or when Jonathan allegedly made such a claim, who was present or who purportedly made the alleged offer,” he said.
Eze noted that the publication bore all the hallmarks of fake news deliberately crafted to mislead the public and drag the former president into unnecessary political controversy.
While acknowledging that the approach of a political season often brings a surge in misinformation and false attributions, he, however, urged Nigerians to disregard the report in its entirety and verify sensational claims before sharing them.
The denial comes amid sustained speculation about Jonathan’s possible return to frontline politics ahead of the 2027 general election.
There were earlier reports of a group purchasing a presidential nomination form to convince the former president to contest in the 2027 presidential election. Meanwhile, there has been no public declaration by Jonathan for a chance to return to Aso Villa. Likewise, the group has yet to present its party’s flag to Jonathan as its candidate for the upcoming election, despite the July 11 deadline for submitting presidential nomination forms to the Independent National Electoral Commission fast approaching.
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