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Tag: smear

  • PDP alleges smear campaign against Atiku

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has said that there is a renewed smear campaign against its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. It won’t work against the party’s chances in the 2019 elections, it said yesterday.

    The main opposition was responding making what it described as attempts by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to paint Atiku black in the eyes of the electorate ahead of the elections.

    In a statement by the spokesman of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said “these shenanigans” will be of no avail.

    The party said the “woeful performance” of President Muhammadu Buhari in office will remain the referendum for the 2019 presidential election no matter the attempts to use hirelings to change national discuss.

    “It is instructive for the APC to accept the reality that our candidate, Atiku, enjoys the support of Nigerians across the board for his credibility, forthrightness and capacity to deliver”, the statement added.

    Read also: Atiku not sincere on restructuring, says Osinbajo

    It stated further that it’s shameful that instead of channeling the nation’s resources to productive ventures, the APC and the Presidency have remained fixated on Atiku Abubakar, saying that it has become clear that Nigerians can no longer be deceived by “lies and beguilements”.

    The statement continued, “Also, having failed in the attempt to paint and label Atiku as corrupt, the APC has now started creating seemingly independent groups to commence a fresh attack on the personal image of our candidate.

    “The PDP is aware of how two top officials of the APC, two Presidential aides and two APC governors have been detailed to coordinate this agenda against our candidate.

    “Their strategies include using the procured groups and hirelings to release strings of fabrications against our candidate ahead of the elections.

    “The PDP therefore counsels the APC and the Buhari Presidency to get ready to face an imminent electoral indignation and defeat from Nigerians as rewards for their basket of unfulfilled promises and empty scorecards.

    “These desperate plots to divert attention from manifest failures and incompetence in governance will not work”.

  • Group uncovers plots to smear NDDC boss

    Group uncovers plots to smear NDDC boss

    A pressure group, Media Advocacy for Anti-Corruption has uncovered alleged plans by the Rivers State Government to run a smear campaign against the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari.

    A statement issued by the national coordinator of the group, Mr. James Okoronkwo, alleged that fictitious memos and doctored receipts are being pushed out to mainly online and print media concerning Semenitari’s period as Commissioner in the state.

    “The plan is to cast her as corrupt and unfit in order to sway public opinions against the NDDC’s boss and hopefully, compel President Muhammadu Buhari from confirming her as substantive MD and as well send the anti-corruption agencies against her,” the group said.

    According to the pressure group, there are desperate moves to taint her, given her impeachable character and time as commissioner.

    They are of the opinion that if they can sufficiently rubbish her, President Buhari will be forced not to appoint her as the substantive Managing Director of the NDDC.

    “Don’t be surprised if you see statements claiming that the Acting MD of the NDDC sponsored the APC matter at the tribunal through award of fictitious contracts as well as alleging that she appointed 23 aides from Rivers state alone. The end product is to pitch the other NDDC states against her and ensure that her tenure is characterised by crisis and mistrust,” the group alleged.

  • ‘Plot to smear Tinubu in full swing’

    ‘Plot to smear Tinubu in full swing’

    A campaign to smear the reputation of All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which started about six weeks ago, is in full swing, his Media Office said yesterday.

    In a statement signed by Sunday Akin Dare, the Tinubu Media Office (TMO) said it had learnt of “a concerted, wilful campaign tagged ‘destroy the reputation of Tinubu and his relationship with Buhari,’” which it has been monitoring for six weeks.

    The statement said: “As part of this ugly plot to cultivate the worst of lies against the national leader of the APC, several blogs and online sites recruited to launch this smear campaign have manufactured stories to advance this sinister plan to taint the public mind with gross lies disguised as news reports and interviews.

    “This campaign, now in full and desperate swing, involves a blatant violation of the minimal standards of journalism and social media ethics.

    “Without conscience or any hint of a sense of morality, the lie in the most outlandish fashion by attributing statements to Tinubu which he never made.

    “ They concoct interviews that were never given and assert positions that he would never hold or endorse. They go about putting words in his mouth, contending that he was in places that he never was, and reporting falsely his movements and meetings.

    “They recently have trespassed another boundary of proper behavior by engaging in cloning letterhead of the Tinubu Media Office and issues their libelous statements under such letterhead. This filth is now being circulated in the social media in a malicious attempt to tie him to the Dasuki money. The writers of these lies wilfully seek to mislead, confuse and deceive the public.

    “Such fallacious headlines such as: ‘Reasons Why I collected N9 million-Tinubu’ and ‘I will not return N9 million –Tinubu’. ‘I am afraid PDP will stop Buhari in 2009 – Tinubu,’ are being paraded.

    “Try as hard as they can, the creators of these false tales and misleading headlines will fail miserably. Their stories cannot stand up to the slightest scrutiny. They are patently false and we condemn in the strongest terms those involved in this anti-Tinubu racket.

    “While these fellows may think themselves cunning, they might have outwitted their very selves. In writing these stories, they have committed clear libel. In abusing the media office letterhead and name, their misrepresentations amount to forgery.

    “They laugh now but walk on thin ice. Soon, that ice will break and they shall have nothing but the weight of their wrongdoing to blame for their predicament that will soon come.

    “The individuals behind the plot are mostly scarred PDP elements made frightened by Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign. They direct these falsehoods at Tinubu in the futile mission of trying to drive a wedge between the President and Tinubu, to disrupt the progress being made against corruption and to destabilise the APC.

    “But their PDP is already something by-gone, buried under the mass of its corruption and wrongdoing. They fight for a cause that has no cause. They are mercenaries of all the ills and defects that the people want excised from our body politic. Thus, we must do the people a public service.

    “After identifying the bloggers and paid hatchet writers perpetrating these wrongs, the Tinubu Media Office is taking the step to alert the public to beware and be wary of hatchet writers, false prophets and paid bloggers.

    “The Tinubu Media Office has the names and online sites recruited for this campaign and will not hesitate to make them known if they do not desist from their negative mission.”

     

  • Group exposes plans to smear SON

    Group exposes plans to smear SON

    The Coalition Against Building Collapse (CABCO) has alleged that there are plans to run a campaign against the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) which include paid demonstrations and continuous attacks on its image.

    In a statement, CABCO General Secretary Clement Orimade, said: “Following several reports in certain sections of the media concerning the recent attacks against SON, CABCO would like to inform the general public of plans to discredit SON by certain manufacturers.

    “First of all we are of the understanding that a certain multinational company is sponsoring the activities of these manufacturers which include the recent protests and are supporting these manufacturers with the intent of fabricating false stories to indict the activities and the image of the agency as corrupt and crooked in the eyes of the public. Mr Orimade enthused.”

    He added: “Secondly, the group plans to undertake a series of nationwide protests and demonstrations by organised crowds in Lagos and Abuja for one week which will be similar to the recent protests, financed by the same people.”

    “Thirdly CABCO is aware that these substandard merchants have been sending frivolous petitions to the office of the president and vice-president in an attempt to tarnish the image of SON.”

    “We have also gathered they seek to do same with the national assembly in order to achieve their selfish interest. He continued”

    “CABCO would like to urge these manufacturers to desist from all of these unnecessary shenanigans or we will expose your operations further because these unpatriotic actions are not of the benefit to the Nigerian economy or citizens in any way”

    The CABCO General Secretary added: “Not too long ago, the different grades of cement was approved and it was a timely intervention because prior to this, there was heavy misapplication of cement by many artisans leading to building collapse, loss of life and property, which is a testament to the works of SON in fighting the influx of substandard products and materials and we witnessed the integrity in their activities first hand.

    “The agency is relentless in its quest in fighting substandard products as I recall SON reduced the level of substandard goods in the country from 85per cent to 45per cent,”  CABCO  added.

  • Politics of smear campaign in Oyo State

    Politics of smear campaign in Oyo State

    Last week was a trying time for the first family in Oyo State. The week started on a shocking note for the First Lady of the state, Chief (Mrs) Florence Ajimobi and his husband, Senator Abiola Ajimobi with the circulation of a report from an online medium, Newsleak, stating emphatically that she was in the custody of the London Metropolitan Police.

    The report pointed out that Mrs Ajimobi was arrested for laundering N500 million. The huge amount, it was alleged, was carried in pounds sterling and dollars by the governor’s wife, adding that his husband had to rush down to London to stand surety for her before she was released on bail by the Metropolitan Police. The medium also alleged that the journey to London was her 52nd trip abroad since her husband assumed office 17 months ago.

    The medium also stated that Governor Ajimobi had engaged the services of three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) to represent her in court for the trial in London. It added that the lawyers were already on their way to London to start the defence of the First Lady as at Monday last week. The report spread fast like a whirlwind, jolting many people (friends and foes alike). Within a short period, social media became awash with the report, and with Nigerian media lapping up the “hot news.”

    Telephone lines were unusually busy as friends and foes made efforts to either spread the news or cross-check some facts about the rumour. A Lagos-based evening medium, PM News, blazed the report that Tuesday with additional report that the Metropolitan Police had confirmed Mrs Ajimobi’s arrest. In response, the governor sued the evening newspaper for libel to the tune of N1 billion, insisting that the newspaper must provide evidence of his wife’s arrest as claimed.

    The First Lady also told reporters in a telephone interview from her location in London that same Tuesday evening, saying that she was never arrested in London. Rather, she disclosed that she planned to return to Nigeria the following day to puncture the report as total falsehood. Mrs Ajimobi explained that she went to London with her 14-year-old daughter who just finished spending her two-week break. As a minor, Mrs Ajimobi explained that the British education regulations require that she goes home to her parents during mid-term and other holidays. She pointed out that she cannot stay alone at home in London; hence, she always goes to spend time with her. She added that the role of looking after the girl had become cumbersome since the election of her husband as she could no longer spend as much time as she used to spend with her due to office duties. She recalled her itinerary after her arrival on Wednesday: “I went to the United Kingdom on Sunday with my 14-year-old daughter who had been home for two weeks on mid-term break. It is my role as a mother to care for her. I can’t fail to perform my role as a mother because I am the wife of the governor. She has been in the UK over five years and, as I said earlier, I visit her every three weeks. I don’t have any other child there that can look after her. My son is in Birmingham and that is far away from the school she attends. So, I will keep performing my role as a mother. If I have to go back tomorrow to see her, I will do. I am not using government funds because she has been there since 2007. I have cared for her; I have nursed her.

    “As a responsible mother, I will look after my daughter. Because I cannot afford to stay there with her, she comes home every holiday. And because I am the First Lady of the state, I can no longer stay as I used to stay. I went to London on Sunday and I am back today. Let them know that I owe my children a duty that I will not give up for anything.” She expressed the belief that political opponents were behind the report and called on her opponents to avoid dirty politics. On the face value, the report contains some allegations that force many discerning readers to ask questions. Where is the confirmation from the London Metropolitan Police that Mrs Ajimobi was actually arrested? The ethics of journalism demand that stories, particularly those that contain allegations, require confirmation by agencies involved as well as reaction by the person alleged. But the story did not contain a single verified source, thereby raising credibility question on its content. The Met Police can always be contacted for confirmation either through its website or telephone contacts. The organisation is a well-organized security agency with international best practices as it handles security issues involving various nationals. So, journalists and even members of the public can easily communicate with it without hindrance. Mrs Ajimobi also has a spokesperson that can respond to such incident in the event that the woman can not be reached immediately. It is expected that media organizations would observe the ethics of the profession, particularly in this type of weighty allegation.

    The claim that her husband, Senator Ajimobi, had assembled a team of SANs to represent her wife in London court, to observers, is also absurd as lawyers who are not called to bar in the UK cannot practise law in the country. The practice of law is country-specific. Any lawyer not called to bar in a particular country cannot practise in that country.

    Again, the story claimed that the governor’s wife had traveled for 52 times since May, 2011. Mathematical calculations will interpret that to mean that Mrs Ajimobi has been traveling abroad once in about every 10 days since she became the First Lady. That is hardly possible, given her attendance at public functions in Oyo State since her husband’s election. No wonder the woman offered to show her traveling passport to fault the claim. Who are behind Newsleak? What does the medium stand to gain from the report? Was it just aimed at gaining popularity or aimed at smearing the image of the First Lady? Could it have been sponsored? If so, by who and for what reason? Looking at the spurious content of the report, it is safe to conclude that the build-up to 2015 general elections in the state may have started. Oyo State is known for deep, dirty politicking since the First Republic. It has been known as the hotbed of political violence in the past but it has been trying to shed the toga since the beginning of this administration. But with the current development, dirty, old-style politics in the state may be on its way back to the political scene. While politicians enjoy their game in the state, the legal fireworks between Ajimobi and PM News are sure to make interesting news reports to readers across the country.