Jonathan Faults Sixth Richest African President Claim, Demands Apology

The Presidency on Wednesday faulted the listing of President Goodluck
Jonathan by a website, R ichestLifestyle.com, as the sixth richest
African President.

It described the publication as another attempt to portray the
President as a corrupt leader and incite public disaffection against
him.

The Presidency's position was contained in a statement by the Special
Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

Abati said there was no factual basis for Jonathan to be listed as the
sixth richest African Head of State with a net worth of about $100
million.

He therefore demand a retraction and an unreserved apology from the
website and all those who have reproduced the article he called
offensive.

He threatened that the Presidency would not hesitate to institute a
libel case against the authors if they failed to retract the article.

The statement read, "We have noted with consternation the listing of
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by a website – R ichestLifestyle.com
– as the sixth richest African President with an estimated net worth
of $100 Million.

"The Presidency condemns the totally unwarranted inclusion of
President Jonathan in the publication titled 'Africa's Richest
Presidents 2014′ as another attempt to unjustifiably portray the
President as a corrupt leader and incite public disaffection against
him.

"We categorically assert that there is no factual basis for ranking
President Jonathan as the sixth richest African Head of State with a
net worth of about $100 Million.

"As is well known, President Jonathan has never been a businessman or
entrepreneur, but a life-long public servant. The President has held
public office since 1999 and has regularly declared his assets as
required by Nigerian laws. He has had no personal income since 1999
other than his official remuneration as deputy governor, governor,
vice president, acting president and president which are matters of
public record.

"There has been no significant variation in the totality of his
personal assets as contained in his last declaration to the Nigerian
Code of Conduct Bureau in 2011 which, as can be verified, was a very,
very far cry from the $100 million figure now being bandied about by
Richest Lifestyle.com and other irresponsible, copy-cat publications.

"The clear and unacceptable imputation of the claim that President
Jonathan is now worth about $100 Million is that the President has
corruptly enriched himself while in office which is certainly not the
case.

"We therefore demand a retraction and an unreserved apology from
Richest Lifestyle.com and all those who have reproduced the offensive
article.

"Otherwise, they should be prepared to substantiate their libelous
claims against the President in courts of law within and outside
Nigeria."