The Federal Government has denied the claim that it compelled prominent Nigerians to Paris to testify for Nigeria in an ongoing arbitration proceeding involving the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) issued the denial in a statement on Saturday, January 18, 2025.ola…00 / 1:00

Multiple reports had earlier claimed that the FG forced former Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari and former Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola to Paris to testify for Nigeria.

Onanuga, in his response, described the reports as fake news, saying President Bola Tinubu did not force anyone to testify for or to refrain from testifying against Nigeria.

According to the statement, “The attention of the Presidency has been drawn to some fake news on social media about an arbitration proceeding in Paris to which the Nigerian Government is a party.

“The private proceeding, which should not have been reported in the media, is entirely confidential until the international arbitrators decide.

“While respecting the confidentiality of the proceeding, we wish to state categorically that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not forced anyone to testify for or to refrain from testifying against Nigeria.”

He explained that “All the eminent Nigerians involved in Nigeria’s defence are doing so willingly and out of sheer patriotism and conviction,” adding that “Tinubu and the entire country are grateful to them.”

‘How I rejected ritual offer to become governor’, says Diri

Bayelsa Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has narrated how he rejected an offer by a senior citizen of Nigeria who invited him to Abuja and advised him to perform certain rituals to be governor of the state.

Speaking at the KOLGA (Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area) Annual Day of Thanksgiving held in Sampou, his community, Diri revealed how he turned down the ritual offering in 2020, declaring that his absolute faith in God earned him the sobriquet ‘Miracle Governor..

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, stated that the matter was then pending at the Supreme Court when the senior citizen flew in some marabouts from Senegal to perform the rituals.

And that when he bluntly rejected the offer, the man demanded a refund of the money spent to transport them into the country, and he paid $10,000.

Diri explained that his unshaken faith in God made him decline the advice to look elsewhere for help, as God, against all the odds, proved that He is always faithful.

He emphasised the need for politicians to learn from his experience and put their trust in God rather than in man.

Diri averred that the KOLGA people had reasons to be thankful to God, given the level of development they had witnessed, and thanked the council for giving the Thanksgiving Day legal backing through legislation.