Former President Goodluck Jonathan has refuted social media reports that he received N300 million and bulletproof cars from David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa.
Mr Jonathan, who made the rebuttal in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, on Wednesday in Yenagoa, described the allegations as “patently fictitious, malevolent, inciting and provocative”.
According to the former president, the story is planted in the social media by a nebulous group known as “Reformation Forum” which claims links with the APC in Bayelsa.
He said the group was calling for the refund of the alleged N300 million and bulletproof cars, which were allegedly given to him to cater for guests during the planned inauguration of Mr Lyon.
The Supreme Court sacked Mr Lyon of the All Progressives Congress as the governor of Bayelsa State barely 24 hours to his inauguration.
The Reformation Forum had alleged that the gifts were delivered to the former president prior to the annulment of Mr Lyon’s victory by the apex court.
He said, “the story which claimed that the alleged money and vehicles were part of logistics given to Dr Jonathan’s family to cater for their guests ahead of the botched inauguration is not only patently fictitious but malevolent, inciting and provocative.
“In the first place, there was no reason for APC or anybody else to offer money and vehicles to the former president for logistics over an inauguration programme in which he was not involved.
“We make bold to state that there is no vehicle in the possession of former President Jonathan given to him by the All Progressives Congress. This is an insufferable lie.
“If anyone on earth knows of such a vehicle, they should expose the particulars of the said vehicle to the public.
“The claim by this group is, therefore, nothing but a fairy-tale scripted to tarnish the good reputation of the former President, whom Nigerians and the rest of the world hold in very high esteem.
“We condemn in entirety this growing culture of sustained falsehood against the person and family of Jonathan by shady and shadowy characters.
“We urge Bayelsans and Nigerians to disregard the story as it contains no grain of truth.
“It is a poor script written with the intention of causing distrust and inciting Bayelsans against themselves.
“What Bayelsa needs now is peace, unity and progress, and not this noxious orgy of mud-slinging and mischief-making.
“As far as we are concerned, the Bayelsa elections have been won and lost at the polls and the courts; we, therefore, urge all groups to accept the transition in good faith,” he said.
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