The Kano State government has threatened to sue President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati, and the Presidency for advanced fee fraud, 419, over the use of the state’s project photographs to promote President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.
Mr. Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, had, in a 10-part series of tweets on Sunday, used photographs of the 10-storey Northwestern University and students of the Kano State Institute of Informatics to illustrate key projects he claimed the President Jonathan administration executed in the six North-West states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara.
The 10-storey building in Mr. Abati’s illustration was a long-standing project of the Kano State government, which was only completed and made a campus by the state’s current governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso. The Kano Informatics Institute was also established in 2011, by the current governor.
Using the hashtags #DidYouKnow? #TransformationintheNorthWest #ForwardNigeria#UpJonathan #UpNigeria, Mr. Abati deployed images and graphics to illustrate what he called the president’s transformation of the North-West zone.
Mr. Abati’s tweets angered the Kano state government, which accused him of lying, deception and plagiarism and demanded the deletion of the tweet and a public apology.
The current Kano state governor, who is claiming credits for the brandished projects, is also a presidential aspirant and member of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.
The tweets also drew heavy public criticism against Mr. Abati and the presidency.
The presidential spokesperson has since deleted the tweet and replaced it with an infographic where the president’s achievements were illustrated with words scribbled in colourful speech bubbles.
Ahead of the February 15 general elections, Nigerian politicians with ambitions are desperate to brandish concrete achievements to convince the voting public they performed well in their current position, a prerequisite for public support.
419
More than 24 hours after the tweet was deleted, the Kano government said Mr. Abati is yet to apologise to it.
“We are giving him seven days to tender a public apology or we will sue him,” Jaafar Jaafar, the Special Assistant on Media to Governor Kwankwaso, told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said the state government was approaching its lawyers to kickstart plagiarism and advance fee fraud, aka 419, charges against the presidential spokesperson if Mr. Abati failed to apologise.
He argued that in addition to using the images without permission, the presidential spokesperson intended to deceive the public with those images and make pecuniary gains.
He said Mr. Abati’s action was planned to “hoodwink” Nigerians into believing President Jonathan’s administration was effective in the region.
Mr. Jaafar argued that such assumptions could have misled voters to re-elect the president in the forthcoming election and in turn make Mr. Abati richer.
“That is obtaining money under false pretence,” Mr. Jaafar said.
If Mr. Abati is charged, it would be the first time an aide of the President is tried for deception.
Mr. Abati could not be reached for comments. Telephone calls rang out and were not returned.
Text messages were not replied.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/172000-kano-threatens-sue-presidency-abati-fraud.html

Story for the gods.
Your law suit won't see the light of the day,after all they all collect monthly stipend from the FG to run their states.
Yeye dey smell well well.

Truckpusher:
Story for the gods.
Your law suit won't see the light of the day,after all they are all collecting monthly stipend from the FG.
Yeye dey smell well well.

Hehehe Truckpusher you again
Did u read it atall

Jerry24kay:


Hehehe Truckpusher you again
Did u read it atall

Maybe you didn't read the part where I said they all take monthly stipend from the FG to run their various states.

It was indeed a very shameful incident. Ordinarily, that oversight should have costed whoever was the architect of it his job, but the president is constrained by his mounting unpopularity and needs every ally he can get no matter how incompetent they are.

As regards the litigation, I'm not sure it would fly since there really isn't any article of the law, to my knowledge, which the incident violates. But the progressives ought to capitalise on it and score some political points. That is politics!!

Apc with their stupidity... GEJ till 2019!!

Truckpusher:
Maybe you didn't read the part where I said they all take monthly stipend from the FG to run their various states.

So the Presidency should claim it

Jerry24kay:


So the Presidency should claim it

It is your headache to answer that question and not mine.

omenka:
It was indeed a very shameful incident. Ordinarily, that oversight should have costed whoever was the architect of it his job, but the president is constrained by his mounting unpopularity and needs every ally he can get no matter how incompetent they are.

As regards the litigation, I'm not sure it would fly since there really isn't any article of the law, to my knowledge, which the incident violates. But the progressives ought to capitalise on it and score some political points. That is politics!!

Am sure that's why he cried out
The suit can't Fly very far but can do some damage ..
Like u said Politics

Truckpusher:
It is your headache to answer that question and not mine.

Mr its too early to start like dis ...
Its our headache except if u re not a Nigerian
The presidency is a Ning Nong

temitemi1:
Apc with their stupidity... GEJ till 2019!!

In Kiri Kiri .. He will have a Special Cubicle n Lots of Sapele Water

Jerry24kay:


Mr its too early to start like dis ...
Its our headache except if u re not a Nigerian
The presidency is a Ning Nong

The opposition is a ning nong nang.
How about that?

Truckpusher:
The opposition is a ning nong nang.
How about that?

Seun dis guy is Spamming

Jerry24kay:


Seun dis guy is Spamming

Yeah ,you guys keep yelling for administrators and mods these days once your asss is getting whooped.

Truckpusher:
Yeah ,you guys keep yelling for administrators and mods these days once your asss is getting whooped.

Who !!
Truck for ur church Mind wetin dem do e gud ??

They shud stop collecting monthly allocation then