Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has distanced herself from a social media post claiming she criticised Nigeria’s debt profile.
The post attributed a statement to Okonjo-Iweala wherein she purportedly criticised Nigeria’s rising debt profile.
“Nigeria debt (sic) for the first time in history has risen to 24 trillion in just 2 months even after removing subsidy is something unbelievable,” the post reads.
“I call (sic) several time (sic) to help and advise but the current administration and cabals refuse to let me come in. How can you remove fuel subsidy with a debt of 24 trillion in 2 months.”
Reacting to the post in a statement via X on Monday, Okonjo-Iweala warned political actors to stop using her name to “fight battles”.
The WTO DG said the viral post is fake and that she will continue to “rebut” attempts to use her name and image falsely.
“THIS IS IMPORTANT- It appears that there are people in Nigeria trying to use my name and image on social media to fight battles on different sides of the political divide, putting words in my mouth that I never said,” Okonjo-Iweala wrote.
“Therefore, I want to alert everyone that the message below is FAKE. This is a stern warning to all those trying to misuse my name for their political ends that I will continue to rebut any attempts to use my name and image falsely!”
The Debt Management Office (DMO) recently said Nigeria’s total public debt reached N121.67 trillion within three months.
This figure represents an increase of N24.33 trillion or 24.99 percent from the N97.34 trillion as of December 2023.
Nigeria’s public debt profile consists of the federal and state governments’ domestic and external debt stocks — the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
This is not the first time Okonjo-Iweala has disowned viral posts credited to her. TheCable had published such fake news alerts here and here.
