The former Minister of Finance and a current member of the Board of Twitter, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was alleged to have endorsed the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari for a second term ahead of the national elections in 2019. It is claimed that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala made this disclosure at the “UN Summit in Mauritania”.
A popular online news platform with questionable journalistic practices carries the post:
“Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Speech at the UN Summit in Mauritania:
‘2019 Presidential election is fast approaching. The enemies of this nation are uniting. They are planning to come back to power and hold this country in ransom again.
– The media are angry. Why? There is no more free money from the government.
– The Ex generals are murmuring. Why? There is no sign President Buhari will renew contracts for their oil blocks.
– Socio-cultural groups are grumbling. Why? No more Ghana must go bags of money to support Buhari.
– The Royal Fathers are shouting. Why? Buhari did not pay homage with cars and cash gifts.
– The Legislators are not cooperating. Why? No more budget padding and bribes before passing of budgets.
– Corrupt Religious leaders are lamenting. Why? No more shady arms contracts.
– Corrupt Civil Servants are not supportive, Why? No more corrupt practices. BVN and TSA have exposed their sharp practices.
– The spoilt kids are bitter. Why? PMB has made people to understand that their parents are not that rich.
Having realized the set of people that want to set this country ablaze because of their controversial ways of living, I pray that Almighty God should help President Muhammadu Buhari overcome all these obstacles and take Nigeria to the promised land.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE STAND WITH A MAN OF HONOR, CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY.”
VERIFICATION OF CLAIM
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was contacted and in a message through her Personal Assistant, she denied making such statements. Mr Paul Nwabuiku, speaking on behalf of the former Finance Minister said:
“The former finance minister did not say such. There are fake inventions including audios that are accredited to her. Some people make audios pretending to be her. People just like causing trouble. I can say it anywhere that the post is fake.”
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala has also been reported to have said that she endorses no one. “Each candidate should run on the credibility of their person and performance, without adding my name to their political campaign”, says the former Minister.
It is also noteworthy to add that there was no UN Summit in Mauritania on the 1st of July as claimed by the news site! Instead, it was the 31st Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of Government of the African Union (AU), otherwise known as the AU Summit which held on July 1st 2018 in Mauritania. The AU Summit theme was tagged: “Winning the Fight against Corruption, A sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.
CONCLUSION
This claim is FALSE as debunked by Mrs Okonjo-Iweala. There was no UN Summit at Mauritania and Mrs Okonjo-Iweala has denied endorsing any politician.
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