The Abia State government has decried the orchestrated attempt by those it described as politically-displaced individuals in the State attempting to stage a comeback on the back of disinformation, half-truths and outright lies, to set Gov Alex Otti against President Bola Tinubu, his fellow governors and other Nigerians, Daily Sun reports.
In a statement, Dodoh Okafor, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Otti on Public Communication said the attention of the Abia State Government has been drawn to a well-coordinated campaign of disinformation sponsored by political opponents of the Governor in pursuit of an unwholesome, self-serving agenda.
Okafor stated that about a fortnight ago, information circulated on social media platforms that Governor Otti had dragged President Tinubu to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for allegedly refusing to grant the request of the Abia State Government to establish a seaport and an international airport in the State.
He said the author(s) of the fake report equally claimed that Otti had in addition to his alleged legal actions against the President also banned traders from a section of the country from doing business in the State.
This he said was done to instigate hatred against Governor Otti from a section of the country and then incite a misinformed mob against hardworking Nigerians in a supposed retaliation.
Okafor said as these were trending, the sponsors of the fake news attempted to set Governor Otti against his brother governors by quoting Otti to have said by the time he would have executed 5 percent of his grand plans for the State, other Nigerians would stone their respective state governors.
The statement added that with a genuine sense of compassion, love and respect Otti has for all, he would never in any way suggest to anyone that he is superior to his other brother governors.
“In another run of fake news, the mischief makers made a fresh attempt to set Dr Otti against ordinary Nigerians by attributing an out-of-character quote to the Governor, claiming he boasted that his “sons” are billionaires.
To begin with, the governor does not have “billionaire sons” and there is nothing to suggest that any of his children, male or female, lives a “billionaire” lifestyle.”
The release made it clear that Otti would not in any way join the league of those who abuse public trust by making government offices a family affair.
In a related development, the state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu has described as fake, news making the rounds in the social media alleging that Otti has urged the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to open the Financial Relief Support Funds in order to curb the distress in the State due to high level of inflation and economic hardship.
The report he said added that every citizen was entitled to receive the sum of N10,000 for three months.
The Commissioner said nothing could be further from the truth as this was a scam not only designed to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, but also pitch the state against the Federal Government.
“Members of the public are enjoined to report the perpetrators of this scam to security agencies where their identities are known for necessary action,” the statement added.
