Online War Over Real Cause of President Jonathan's Sickness

A dispute between the Presidency and an online news medium, Sahara Reporters, has introduced a new twist to the health challenge that President Goodluck Jonathan had in London last week Thursday. The matter was provoked by a response by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, to the online media's story on the President's illness.

They had reported that Jonathan’s health broke down in London after engaging in heavy drinking during a bash organised to mark his 56th birthday in his hotel room in London.

That this angered the Presidency is evident in the tone of statement issued by Dr. Abati, which indicates that the government may institute a legal action against Sahara Reporters.

In the statement that has sparked online reactions from many Nigerians, Abati said contrary to claims, Jonathan observed his birthday on Wednesday quietly with better part of the day spent on air from Abuja to London – while the remaining part was spent in the privacy of his hotel room.

But Sahara Reporters say they are ready to go to court as they are sure of what they reported.

With the latest development, the presidential spokesman has once again come under fire from Nigerians who say the response is hardly necessary. A majority of Nigerians who have taken to Twitter, Facebook and The Punch news website, where the statement was also published, say Abati’s response has thrown the hitherto ‘unpopular and unknown report’ into the open.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the debate, Sahara Reporters says its report on the President’s health is valid. It made this known in a statement on its website, saying, “Despite Mr. Jonathan’s threats and deployment of scare tactics, Sahara Reporters, stands by its account of the events in London in the past few days...

As 2015 election approaches and Mr. Jonathan tries to win the sympathy of Nigerians in his favour, we challenge him to prove — including in a court of law – that these reports have been “entirely fictional, malicious, hate-driven and scurrilous distortion of the facts.”