Yar'Adua: Presidency furious over false resignation report
THE Presidency was in a furious mood yesterday following a false report that President Umaru Yar’Adua might resign because of ill-health.
Presidential spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, dismissed the report which was selectively circulated on-line to Comet, Vanguard,
nanshep@yahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ,
mosetu33@tahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , AIT, Pointer, FRCN, Abujanews, USIS Abidjan,
dsessocietynews@yahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Cross River Radio,
didnov@yahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it as rubbish, false and irresponsible.
Information Minister, Mr. John Odey, denounced it as fabrication. The flash news, as the report was tagged, emanated from the “Newsagency Nigeria” with the e-mail address
newsagencynig@yahoo.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
It read: “President Umaru Yar’Adua may resign after carbinate reshuffle, on health ground.” Time was 11:20 a.m.
At least, one Lagos-based television station immediately began to broadcast the report, crediting it to the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
But NAN, in a swift reaction by its Deputy Editor-in-Chief (Production), Mr. Olusegun Aribike, disowned the story and the e-mail address outright.
NAN disowns story
NAN said: “Our attention has been drawn to a report to the effect that President Umaru Yar’Adua will resign after a cabinet meeting. This is untrue. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) did not carry any such report. Please ignore that story. We believe that it is a mischief maker at work.”
...drops Yahoo, Gmail, hotmail
It then followed it up with another signed by its Deputy Editor-in-Chief (Abuja Metropolitan Desk), Alhaji Ali Hakeem, saying:
“Dear esteemed subscribers,
“With effect from today, September 16, 2008, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has rested the following e-mail addresses:
nanabujahq@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and
nancommunication@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to send its news items.
“NAN will no longer use any yahoo, or gmail, or hotmail.com address from this moment on.
“The only authentic address NAN will be using from now on is:
newsroom@nannewsngr.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it repeat:
newsroom@nannewsngr.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
“This has become necessary to ensure that NAN news items can be readily identified as opposed to those sent to you by mischief makers.
“We use this medium to let you know that NAN will not have anything to do with any story from addresses other than
newsroom@nannewsngr.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .”
Not our address — Oyo
Managing Director of the agency, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, declared in a statement that the agency had nothing to do with the story.
“The address is not that of NAN. The poor grammar, as indicated in the wrong spelling of ‘cabinet’ could not have been that of NAN,” she added.
She stressed that some mischief makers, bent on using the NAN platform, must be at work.
“The agency vehemently disowns the story in its entirety and will not have anything to do with speculative or unfounded reports,” she stressed.
Oyo advised its valued subscribers to ignore such unpatriotic stories and to confirm from the agency in future, if any such stories are sent by mischief makers.
Also reacting, Presidential spokesman, Mr. Adeniyi, said: “Following inquiries that came in the wake of a report purportedly issued by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) today (yesterday), the Presidency wishes to affirm that there is no truth whatsoever to the suggestion that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is contemplating resignation from office.
“Since NAN itself has categorically denied being the source of the report that the president may resign, it can only be assumed that the report is the handiwork of persons who do not wish the country well.
“For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, President Yar’Adua has no intention of abandoning the mandate given to him to lead Nigeria further along the path to restoration, growth and development.
“He will, therefore, continue to discharge his responsibilities to the best of his abilities.
“I urge my colleagues in the media to be much more alert to the antics of persons and groups who have now made it their business to spread baseless rumours and untruths about the President in furtherance of their selfish schemes and ambitions.
“The doors of the administration remain open to the media at all times and practitioners are welcome to cross-check the veracity of any dubious report before publication.”
The statement was entitled “Yar’Adua has no intention of resigning.”
He had earlier told the AFP: "there is nothing like that, it is absolutely rubbish,” adding that the report was “false and patently irresponsible.”
Information Minister, Mr Odey, also told AFP the report was a “fabrication.”
Another presidential aide, who asked not to be named, called the report a “rumour” which he suspected was aimed at causing confusion in the country.
“The president does not plan to resign and the issue has never been broached in any way,” he added.
Channels TV shut
At about 4 p.m. yesterday, armed security operatives in three Coaster buses swooped on Channels Television in Lagos and locked everybody in and shut down the operations of the station.
Two officials of the television station were invited by the security operatives.
The security operatives also removed the station’s editing suite and some computer laptops.
They, however, allowed some of the staff to leave at about 6.30p.m. The station was still off the air at press time.
Its Abuja office was also shut by security men who stormed there at about 6.pm.
Guild of Editors' president calls for restraint
However, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr Gbenga Adefaye, in his reaction said: “No medium or public communication should be shut down on account of any alleged infraction.
“Every allegation should be properly investigated through the due process.
“We, therefore, advise security agents to act with utmost restraint in the handling of this matter while investigations last.”
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