15:T76b,

The Presidency this afternoon washed its hands off an alleged plot to frustrate the emergence of the mega party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, debunked the publication in today’s edition of LEADERSHIP newspaper which claimed among other things that President Goodluck Jonathan has given a directive that the planned merger of some political parties should be frustrated and that some state governors have been put on a 24 hour surveillance for whatever reasons.

The presidential spokesman said the claim is false, mischievous and runs against common sense in view of the presidents credentials as a democrat who has refused to interfere in the activities of other political parties and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

While noting that the publication attributes its sources to what it called “presidential villa insiders,” Dr. Okupe asserted that the President does not give unlawful directives and has nothing to fear about the proposed merger that will necessitate him planning anything against the business interest of opposition figures as claimed by the LEADERSHIP.

The Senior Special Assistant also frowned at the claim that the president was planning to raise pump price of petroleum products when the same president has provided enough funds for fuel subsidy in the 2013 budget and has recently stated unequivocally that it has no plans to increase fuel price or remove fuel subsidy.

He admonished journalists to avoid playing into the hands of mischievous politicians whose desire is to blackmail the president and score cheap political points even at the expense of stability of the country.

Dr. Okupe described the totality of the report as fictitious and lacking in any substance of truth.

Update news