Presidency alerts to smear campaign against Buhari

The Presidency has alerted the nation to a plot of another smear campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari, using some online newspapers and blogs.

It said the plan was to portray the President as a nepotistic leader, who had continued to use his office to give undue advantage to people of his ethnic group.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement said although the masterminds of the orchestrated smear campaign had failed to support any of their claims with verifiable facts, they had already listed media outfits, especially online media, to use in the plot.

According to the statement, those behind the campaign have penciled down opinion leaders who have been consistent in their opposition to President Buhari to use as sources, while they have picked topics to depict him as using his office to subjugate a certain religion as well some ethnic groups.

It, however, revealed that the primary intent of the sponsors of the campaign was to further escalate religious and ethnic tension in the country even as it alleged that the gain they look forward to are both power and money, urging the public to ignore them when they eventually launch their plot.

The statement read in part, “There is compelling reason to alert the nation of another orchestrated smear campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari, using some online newspapers and blogs.

“The campaign, scheduled to be launched anytime soon through editorials and purported special investigative stories, is designed to further exacerbate tension in the land, by portraying the President as pandering to ethnic and other primordial tendencies, contrary to his pledge to belong to all Nigerians.

“Impeccable security findings indicate that those behind the plot have procured online blogs and newspapers, which are to launch coordinated publications, alleging subjugation and suppression of a particular religion and ethnic groups.

“A specific medium has so far contacted some opinion leaders, especially those very critical of President Buhari.

“Part of the planned publication is to make unwary readers believe that the President has continually used the powers of his office to shield and protect an ethnic group against crimes of murder, kidnappings, rape and banditry in the southern, middle belt and some northern states.

“The publication will also refer Nigerians to a 58-page document, which chronicles purported atrocities of the ethnic group in the South since 2017, all of which it claims the Presidency has turned blind eyes to.

“Again, the hatchet job will allege that the President has continued to place members of his ethnic nationality in sensitive positions, so as to confer undue advantage on them. This allegation is by no means supported with reasonable facts and figures.”