Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has disowned a WhatsApp message falsely claiming she is bringing investors to Nigeria. In a statement on her official X handle on Friday, the former Finance Minister clarified that she does not use the WhatsApp Broadcast feature and that the message did not come from her.
Describing the message as fake, Okonjo-Iweala urged the public to disregard any such information circulating on WhatsApp in her name. She emphasized that the peddlers of such misinformation will not succeed.
“It’s been brought to my attention that another fake message has been manufactured and is being forwarded on WhatsApp in my name,” she wrote. “I want to make clear that this fake message is not from me. I am pleased that those who know me instantly recognized this as fake.”
She continued, “Thanks to friends who brought this to my attention. Please be aware that I do not use WhatsApp broadcasts, thus, anything forwarded to you purporting to be a WhatsApp message from me is FAKE. This is a bad example of the use of social media. I want to warn those in the business of manufacturing FAKE messages, that they will not succeed.”
Okonjo-Iweala’s clarification aims to prevent the spread of misinformation and highlights the importance of verifying the authenticity of messages received on social media platforms.