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 falsely claimed she was threatened following her recent visit to President Bola Tinubu.
On Tuesday, Okonjo-Iweala had a meeting with President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja. This encounter marked their second meeting since the president’s assumption of office on May 29.
Clarifying the nature of her visit, Okonjo-Iweala emphasized that she did not represent the WTO DG role during the meeting.
However, soon after the meeting, a letter attributed to Okonjo-Iweala emerged on platforms like WhatsApp, detailing alleged “toxic” calls and messages she had purportedly received, criticizing her for the 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.”
In response, Okonjo-Iweala’s disavowal of the letter sheds light on the potential manipulation of information in the digital realm and underscores the importance of verifying sources and claims in today’s fast-paced media landscape.