{"id":122501,"date":"2025-09-25T17:37:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122501"},"modified":"2025-09-25T17:37:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:37:48","slug":"presidency-deploying-fake-consultants-to-malign-atiku-says-media-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-deploying-fake-consultants-to-malign-atiku-says-media-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidency Deploying Fake Consultants to Malign Atiku, Says Media Office"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/div>\n
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The Atiku Media Office (AMO) has accused the Presidency of orchestrating a smear campaign against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar it what it described as \u201chigh-level propaganda and disinformation.\u201d<\/div>\n
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In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Media Adviser to Atiku, Mr Paul Ibe said the government had resorted to using faceless individuals to fabricate stories and circulate fake press releases in the name of the opposition leader.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe have observed with concern a certain self-styled \u2018media consultant,\u2019 one Kola Johnson, issuing press releases in the name of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar,\u201d Ibe said. \u201cOur findings point directly to the Presidency, which in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorized statements on Atiku.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The statement particularly denounced what it called \u201ca false claim\u201d suggesting that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group. \u201cThis disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media,\u201d Ibe noted.<\/div>\n
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The Media Office stressed that Atiku has never engaged the said Kola Johnson \u201cas a media consultant, aide, or associate.\u201d It warned that \u201cany statement issued in that name is fake and should be disregarded.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Ibe urged editors and news platforms that had published the fabricated stories to immediately retract them, while cautioning Nigerians to be alert to the tactics of the Tinubu administration. \u201cWe caution Nigerians, especially the media, to remain vigilant against the propaganda schemes of the Tinubu administration, which now include circulating fabricated statements through compromised journalists,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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For clarity, the statement emphasized that only the Atiku Media Office is authorized to release information on behalf of the former Vice President, signed either by his Media Adviser or the Special Assistant on Public Communications.<\/div>\n
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\u201cEditors and media gatekeepers are strongly advised to verify with the AMO before publication,\u201d Ibe added.<\/div>\n
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The statement was signed by Paul Ibe on behalf of the Atiku Media Office.<\/div>\n
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