By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Former minister of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) , Elder Godsday Peter Orubebe, yesterday denied any plan to abduct the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attaoru Jega, even as he threatened to sue the national daily that carried the story.
Speaking in an interview in Abuja yesterday, Elder Orubebe who was one of the PDP agents at the national collation centre, said that he has written ThisDay newspapers, demanding an outright retraction of the story its speculated against his personality “in a desperate bid to sell its paper and mislead the Nigerian populace.”
It would be recalled that Orubebe who regretted his actions and tendered apology to Nigerians shortly after the drama at the result collation centre during the presidential election had explained that he was pushed by the conduct of Prof. Jega, who he said failed to exhibit fairness and equity to his party’s petition as he did to APC’s petition against Rivers state result.
Wondering why he would ever considered conniving with friends and other party stalwarts to ferment national violence that will in turn fall on children, women and youths as speculated, Orubebe said “I love and preach peace and so cannot sacrifice national unity and peace on the platter of power .”
The former minister, who could not hide his pains at what he termed disparaging defamatory, said that he had since directed his lawyer to write the management of the paper and take legal action to immediately retract the report and desist from further publishing and misleading Nigerians.
Orubebe further accused the paper of flouting the ethics of balance reportage, saying that it in clear terms that ‘I was never called nor SMS as they claimed.’
When contacted, his advocate, Mr. S. Larry (SAN), said he had already written to alert the paper of Orubebe’s decision to take legal action against them.