Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has described as malicious twitter “flash” by Sahara Reporters which claimed that the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State “has been linked to the ownership of Lagos Lekki Gardens where 31 died in a collapsed bld.”

“We want to state categorically that Senator Akpabio is not the owner of Lagos Lekki Gardens nor has he any form of relationship whatsoever with the said company,” Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Anietie Ekong, said last night.

Continuing, he said in a statement issued in Abuja: “While we condole with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate building collapse, we are saddened that Sahara Reporters could chose to play politics with such a tragic incident as the death of Nigerians and chose to drag in the name of Senator Akpabio.

“This mischief is happening at a time the owners of Lagos Lekki Gardens have been arraigned before a competent court of law for all Nigerians to see.

“It is not beyond the investigative capabilities of Sahara Reporters to find out from the authorities of the Lagos State Government and the Corporate Affairs Commission if they still doubt the ownership of the Lagos Lekki Gardens that one petitioner against Senator Akpabio claims controls 27 estates within Lagos. We condemn this politically-motivated speculation linking Senator Akpabio to the ownership of Lagos Lekki Gardens.

“This is one in a series of falsehood that Sahara Reporters has fabricated against the Senate Minority Leader. Recall the national uproar which followed a similar concoction on December 10, 2015 when Sahara Reporters “authoritatively confirmed” that Senator Akpabio had been sacked from the Senate by an Appeal Court which had not even delivered its judgment at the time of the publication. It turned out to be a hoax when the election of the Senator was upheld the following day by the Appeal Court.

“We condemn this attempt by Sahara Reporters to tarnish the image of a public officer and demand an unreserved apology for this false and malicious publication. We advise the promoters of Sahara Reporters to jettison mischief, falsehood and fabrication and uphold the fine journalism tradition of objectivity, truth and fairness.”

•Photo shows Senator Akpabio.