Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and former Nigeria’s Finance Minister, has disavowed a letter circulating on social media that claimed she had been threatened following her visit to President Bola Tinubu.
During her visit to the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday, Okonjo-Iweala met with President Tinubu. This marked the second encounter between the two since President Tinubu’s assumption of office on May 29.
However, Okonjo-Iweala clarified that her visit was not in her capacity as the WTO DG, further underlining the distinction between her official role and personal engagements.
Shortly after the meeting, a letter falsely attributed to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala surfaced on social media platforms, particularly WhatsApp. The letter purportedly depicted Okonjo-Iweala expressing distress over alleged “toxic” calls and messages she had received, supposedly criticizing her visit to the president.
“A visit I made for the good of our dear nation is what they are using to threaten my life and family. You don’t recognise someone as your president yet begging him to save you from the hands of killers in your region,” the viral letter reads.
Reacting to the letter, Okonjo-Iweala, in a Twitter post on Wednesday, said the statement was “falsely designed” to create mischief among Nigerians.
“It has just been brought to my attention that there is a false statement circulating on WhatsApp attributed to me saying that I am being attacked for my visit to President Tinubu,” she wrote.
“That statement circulating is false, in fact wickedly designed to create mischief among Nigerians. Please disregard the statement.”
The disassociation by Okonjo-Iweala from the contents of the letter underscores the importance of accurate information and the potential risks associated with misinformation in the digital age.
