The Presidency has denied a publication by one of the nation’s media houses which reported, yesterday, details of a dispatch said to have been written by an official of the Embassy of the United States in Nigeria. The publication accused the Presidency of interfering with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) with the aim of using them for its personal and political interests.
The rebuttal was contained in a release made available to Sunday Tribune from the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity on Saturday.
“The Presidency is shocked, but hardly surprised that the newspaper, in an accustomed act of wanton irresponsibility, published today (yesterday) plainly false details of a fake dispatch purportedly written by an official of the Embassy of the United States in Nigeria.
“We wholly condemn this cheap and totally unimaginative attempt to denigrate the character and integrity of the President on the pages of a newspaper published under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which expressly forbid false publications, libel, defamation and sedition,” the statement stated.
While demanding for immediate apology from the newspaper and a complete retraction of the publication, the Presidency denied any interference with the activities of the anti-graft agencies, stressing that “President Jonathan is fully committed to the relentless prosecution of the war against corruption in Nigeria and will never, for personal or political reasons, interfere with the work of the EFCC, ICPC and other agencies involved in the effort to stamp out corruption.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add A Comment