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APC fumes over publication alleging EFCC recovered N400bn from Tinubu’s house
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has demanded the arrest of the publisher of a website that published a report alleging that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raiding the house of Bola Tinubu, its presidential candidate.
Recall that an online platform had in a report that went viral on Sunday, alleged that EFCC operatives raided Tinubu’s home and recovered N400bn.
The report, which has since been dismissed by the EFCC, had also alleged that the commission declared the MD of FirstBank wanted, with an image of Nnamdi Okonkwo, the group managing director of FBN Holdings, used
Denying the reports in a tweet via its Twitter handle, the spokesperson for the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, urged Nigerians to disregard the reports as fake news.
A statement signed by the Director of PCC Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, also noted that the campaign council had discovered that “the rogue website” was set up to disseminate false and malicious information against his principal.
Onanuga frowned on the story, which he said lacked the essential of “when, where and how” which make up the ingredients of any news story.
Applauding the EFCC for promptly dissociating itself from the fake story by issuing a formal statement on the purported raid by its men, the former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria urged security agencies in the country to go after the owners.
He said, “We urge the authorities to fish out the people behind the site that is recklessly dishing out fake news before more damage is done to our polity. We want to warn Nigerians to be wary of every piece of news emanating from the site, and its social media handles.
“There will be many of such sites as some candidates become desperate to win at all costs, in fulfilment of some rogue and rigged opinion polls, shunning all decent norms and rules.
“The dubious website, in its fake story, claimed investigations are still ongoing as to which bank manager made such money available to Tinubu, it then admitted its own absurdity when it wrote that ‘the money recovered in Tinubu’s underground house’ is equivalent of ‘the entire money printed for the whole Nigeria’ by the CBN.
“So, if Tinubu alone has all the money printed by Godwin Emefiele’s CBN, how do you account for the billions distributed by the apex bank to all the banks, including operators of PoS? The site, which, on Twitter and Facebook, appears to have links with the Labour Party, went further, in another post, to claim that President Muhammadu had ordered the arrest of the bank manager that made the phantom money available to the APC candidate.”
FirstBank of Nigeria has also dismissed the report, which also alleged EFCC declared its managing director wanted in connection with a bogus N400bn.
In a statement on Monday, the Management of FirstBank described the report as “malicious,” while stating that it’s fake news.
“Our attention has been drawn to false news making the rounds that an order of arrest has been made against the MD of FirstBank whilst using the name and image of the GMD of FBN Holdings. We wish to state categorically that this is fake news which has already been debunked by EFCC in their publication titled: ‘EFCC Did Not Raid Tinubu’s Home’ and signed by the Commission’s Head, Media & Publicity on its verified twitter handle,” the statement reads.
“Neither the Managing Director of the Bank nor the Group Managing Director of the Holding company, Nnamdi Okonkwo have any involvement with the matters alleged in this made up news story nor is there an order of arrest against either one of them.
“The public should disregard this and all such similar stories whilst the authorities are called upon to fish out the perpetrators of this malicious story.”
Meanwhile, the EFCC had while reacting to the report, in a statement signed by the commissions Head, Media & Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren said there is no truth in it.
“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a report circulating in the social media, claiming that operatives of the Commission raided the home of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the forthcoming presidential elections and recovered a humongous sum of N400billion,” Uwajeren said.
“The Commission wishes to state that no such operation was carried out by the EFCC. The public is enjoined to disregard the report as fake news.”
