Following reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had declared his intention to run for President in 2019, he has come out to debunk the news.
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Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the video making rounds on social media that he has publicly declared his intention to contest in the 2019 Presidential election as 'fake news.'
He was seen in the video saying that he is ready to lead the country. In the video, Atiku is seen saying: “I am Atiku Abubakar, the poor boy from Jada, Adamawa state. I am a true democrat, a believer in the rule of law and a fighter for justice and equity. I believe in this country.
"If we work together under a focused and visionary leadership, we will make this country a stable and prosperous nation. I have the vision, the courage, the experience to lead this country. It is time to give back. I am ready to serve.”
However, while debunking the news, Atiku wrote on Twitter: "This #FakeNews is breaking across so many media channels, I’m wondering who sent it to them #Smile."
Press Release:
VIDEO OF PURPORTED ATIKU’S DECLARATION FOR 2019 IS FAKE NEWS
Abuja, Nigeria, 03 November, 2017: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has distanced himself from a fake video purporting to be a formal declaration of his intent to contest the 2019 presidential election.
Reacting to the fake video which is now in circulation, the former Vice President speaking through his media office in Abuja, said the video is a bad job of bad people with bad intentions.
According to Atiku, some mischief makers are using a video clip extracted from his 2011 presidential declaration to create a false impression that he formally declared for the 2019 presidential election.
He said such propaganda is being deliberately promoted by political opponents in order to create acrimony. Atiku advised those involved in such "laughable and unintelligent propaganda of lies and intentional mischief to find something useful to do with their time instead of using his name to achieve their malicious political objectives."
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Describing those behind the fake video clip "as a group of incompetent and bumbling political novices who cannot see the loopholes in their own stories", the former Vice President advised members of the Nigerian press to be wary of uncritically lapping up fake news materials from groups that don't care about their own credibility.
He explained that, "While fake news merchants don't bother about ethics and their reputation", members of the press have more to lose if they take stories from such disreputable groups without verification.
The Waziri Adamawa added that spreading false stories about any individual politician is not within the protected boundaries of free speech, and that the traditional media should take the first step by not helping fake news merchants to promote their agenda.
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