The quote currently circulating on Social Media in which Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, was quoted to have said that President Goodluck Jonathan is Nigeria’s Mandela is a hoax. The quote is a lie which originated with one Theresa Ugwuanyi.

Theresa, a fairly well known blogger had falsely alleged that Dr. Okupe said “Nelson Mandela was a great leader, he lived his life for the people of South Africa.

“I check through the history of Nigeria, among the our past and present leaders, the only one we call our Mandela here in Nigeria is President Jonathan. There is no any President in Nigeria that has sacrifice 13 hours to discuss with ASUU.”

Opposition figures like former FCT minister, Nasir el-Rufai and others circulated the hoax and it went viral. But when confronted with evidence that the story was a hoax, Theresa Ugwuanyi, who started it all, issued an apology on her facebook page saying as follows; “Nigerians and their flare for hot gist..the quote credited to Dr Doyin Okupe was a joke carried too far..I have offered my apologies to Dr Okupe and advice all to hold their fire..don’t want to go to jail yet..remember I pleaded the 5th amendment on that post..I hold Dr Okupe in very high regard and would never deliberately set out to ridicule his good name or office”.