Peter Obi, the Labour Party's Presidential Candidate in the 2023 General Elections, has strongly denied the authenticity of a photo showing him with Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa.
Diran Onifade, the Head of the Obi-Datti Media Office, released a statement in Lagos on Thursday clarifying that the photo was fake and manipulated to tarnish Obi's reputation.
The photo in question showed Obi standing alongside an admirer on a Virgin Atlantic flight on July 21, 2023. However, mischievous minds inserted the image of renowned supporter and activist Aisha Yesufu to lend credibility to the false narrative.
Onifade highlighted that this unethical act exploited the power of digital technology, which can create convincing but entirely fictional scenarios.
Ekpa has been accused of calling for several sit-at-home orders in the Southeast region, resulting in the loss of lives and property. Onifade stressed that Obi had been the first to denounce such actions, attributing them to criminals that the system had failed to confront effectively.
The attempt to link Obi with Ekpa was seen as a desperate move to tarnish Obi's image and undermine his rising fame as a political leader striving to build a better Nigeria and combat poverty. Onifade called on the nation's parliament to examine the handling of such fraudulent activities more closely to address the growing menace.
He said:
"The scenario is exactly what played out in the photoshopped picture of Peter Obi supposedly standing with the Finland-based irritant Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa.
"This is all in a desperate move to drag Obi's name into disrepute by linking him with the ugly story that Ekpa has become in Nigeria.
"For clarity, the picture was taken by Obi standing with an admirer on a Virgin Flight on Friday, July 21, 2023.
"In trying to authenticate their filthy and disgustingly dirty act, they inserted the picture of Aisha Yusuf behind them.
"The memory may be short to forget that Obi was the first to describe the sit-at-home thing as an act being engineered and bred by a criminal that the system has refused to squarely tackle."
In another deceptive move, some individuals circulated an advertisement claiming that Peter Obi was offering 20GB of free data and N5,000 in airtime to celebrate his 62nd birthday. Onifade clarified that this was a scam and warned subscribers to be cautious.
Onifade said,
"This is a SCAM! Subscriber beware!!."
Rather than focusing on finding lasting solutions to the country's economic challenges, Onifade criticised those who sought to rubbish Obi's credibility for their obsession with linking him to Ekpa.
He called on the country's leaders to consider the views expressed by Peter Obi, a prominent political leader dedicated to building a new and prosperous Nigeria.
He said the reasonable thing to do if the country was sincere in tackling its economic challenges was to study the views expressed by Obi instead of trolling him endlessly.
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