The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi has accused Lere Olayinka, the Special Assistant on New Media to Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State of making false statements against him.
Olayinka had in a Twitter post quoted Abdullahi as saying that the fuel scarcity was because the economy had boomed under President Muhammadu Buhari so much that Nigerians had acquired more cars.
Abdullahi threatened to sue the governor’s aid for damages if the statement is not withdrawn.
In a statement signed by its Assistant Director, Publicity, Edegbe Odemingwe, the APC described Olayinka’s statement about Abdullahi as a fabrication intended to tarnished the APC spokesman’s image.
The APC appealed to Nigerians to always confirm stories purportedly from the party on its official media channels.
“The statement was a pure fabrication by one Lere Olayinka, a media aide to governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state, who made the alleged tweet on December 19, 2017, without citing any source and was rightly ignored by right thinking people.
“Our party immediately issued a disclaimer, warning the general public to be wary of the said Olayinka for being notorious for peddling fake news.
“We have been compelled to issue this disclaimer yet again as there appears to be a deliberate ploy to soil the reputation of Mallam Abdullahi through the spread of this fiction.
“We also wish to note that mallam Abdullahi has commenced legal action against Mr Olayinka as his lawyers have written to him to disclaim the said statement or be sued for damages.
“We once again appeal to the media to corroborate information attributed to us from our official media channels.”