Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has denied a statement attributed to her by P.M. News suggesting that President Bola Tinubu had achieved what many had doubted in Nigeria’s economy.
Ezekwesili, in a post on her X account on Wednesday, accused the newspaper of fabricating the statement and deliberately misleading members of the public.
The former minister said she did not make the statement attributed to her and demanded that the publication remove the report and its associated social media posts.
“You deliberately lied to the public by crafting and spreading a sentence I never uttered in any form,” Ezekwesili said.
She also accused P.M. News of deliberately keeping the report online despite her denial, alleging that the publication was attempting to create the impression that she had praised the Tinubu administration.
According to her, the alleged statement was part of what she described as an attempt by supporters of the President and officials of his administration to obtain favourable comments from her.
Ezekwesili wrote, “The @pmnewsnigeria, I see that your desperation and those of the @officialABAT’s @NGRPresident’s @NigeriaGov and their officials like @fkeyamo as well as their ruling party @OfficialAPCNg officials like @Morka2Felix, for Oby Ezekwesili’s praise is definitely real.”
She further criticised the newspaper for what she described as its refusal to retract the statement, saying the continued publication of the alleged quote amounted to an attempt to deceive Nigerians.
“And you have persisted in keeping it up on all your social media handles to deceive the public,” she stated.
The former minister also condemned what she described as the growing relationship between sections of the Nigerian media and politicians, accusing some media organisations of compromising their professional responsibilities.
“Your @pmnewsnigeria exemplifies those among Nigerian journalists and media houses that have willingly and shamelessly sold themselves and their profession to our country’s vile politicians who are destroying the country and people,” she alleged.
Ezekwesili said she would not pursue legal action against the publication, expressing her distrust in the judicial system.
She added, “I won’t even waste my time suing your rag-sheet @pmnewsnigeria because after all, like-media-like-judiciary in the hands of corrupt politicians who have infected both institutions to a metathesized state with their cancer of corruption.”
The former minister, however, said she remained optimistic that Nigerians would eventually demand accountability and work towards restoring the country’s institutions.
“When citizens are ready for Good Governance, we will all collectively arise and fight to reclaim our Land and all broken institutions from political hyaenas and their allies,” she said.
Ezekwesili’s comments come amid continuing political debates over the Tinubu administration’s economic policies and performance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
