Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has disowned a circulating WhatsApp post claiming she is bringing investors to Nigeria.
In a statement posted on her official X handle on Friday, the former Minister of Finance clarified that she does not use the WhatsApp Broadcast feature and that the message did not originate from her.
Describing the message as fake, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala urged the public to disregard any information circulating on WhatsApp purportedly from her. She condemned the message as a “bad example” of social media misuse and asserted that the peddlers of such misleading information “will not succeed.”
Her post reads: “It’s been brought to my attention that another fake message has been manufactured and is being forwarded on WhatsApp in my name. I want to make clear that this fake message is not from me. I am pleased that those who know me instantly recognised this as fake.
“Thanks to friends who brought this to my attention. Please be aware that I do not use WhatsApp broadcasts, thus, anything forwarded to you purporting to be a WhatsApp message from me is FAKE. This is a bad example of the use of social media. I want to warn those in the business of manufacturing FAKE messages, that they will not succeed.”
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s clarification aims to prevent the spread of false information and highlights the need for vigilance in verifying the authenticity of messages on social media platforms.
