The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said some of his opponents originated fake news, published them under false names and ascribed them to him or his supporters.
Obi made this known in reaction to a warning by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, to stop the former’s supporters from “spreading lies, malice and denigrating other candidates”.
Tinubu, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his campaign spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, also urged Obi to call his (Peter Obi) supporters to order and allow the 2023 general election circle to be about issues that will advance the growth, progress, and stability of Nigeria.
Reacting, the Labour Party presidential standard-bearer, in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Valentine Obienyem, said the statement by Onanuga advising candidates to “desist from spreading lies, malice and denigrating other candidates” mirrored what Obi had propagated over the years.
He said if supporters were mindful of this, some articles published in some newspapers against Obi would not have been published, including those with offensive titles.
READ ALSO: Tinubu to Peter Obi: Your supporters are spreading lies, denigrating me
Obienyem said right from Obi’s position as a governor, he was not known for the habit of attacking people or building lies against others.
On the alleged fake letter from the President of Ghana and the alleged request of N50 billion monthly payment, Obienyem said while Obi was not bothered about their authenticity, it was wickedness to link them to his supporters, stressing that any publication from Obi’s group was always properly signed and the source was clearly spelt out.
Obi’s Media Adviser added that the former governor of Anambra State has thrown his weight behind the call by Tinubu for the campaign, whenever it starts, to be based on issues and not personality.
Obienyem further described as the “height of mischief”, the attempt to link his campaign to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He said: “We know that things are not well in Nigeria. We know of the agitations in different parts of the country, our principal has always said what he would do with such organisations to stop their agitation and bring then back to Nigeria as one happy family.
“Rather than others say what they will do, they are here creating more problems by trying vainly and wickedly to link their follow contestants to some of those organisations.”
Obienyem expressed happiness that “Nigerians knew the truth and that such gimmicks used to deceive them would no longer work.”
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