The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has denied claim of calling Nigerians sore losers over the ongoing #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest.
Naija News reports that in a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the governor, Kayode Akinmade, Abiodun described the claims as total fabrication, malicious, and lacks any rational basis.
The Governor said he was referring to certain losers of the 2023 elections who were cashing in on the dissent of Nigerian youths to destabilise the country.
Abiodun stated that nowhere in the referenced interview with Channels TV, did he mention that ordinary Nigerians ventilating their grievances over the economic situation in the country are sore losers.
The statement emphasised that the governor is well known for his deep appreciation of Nigerian youths, students, and workers, whom he has always held in the highest esteem and spoken about in glowing terms.
The statement added the Governor Abiodun was not only willfully and maliciously taken out of context in the characterization of certain political opponents of President Bola Tinubu using the ongoing hunger protest to feather their nests but is now also being persecuted by the same individuals through sponsored attacks on his person and office.
The statement read, “The claim that Governor Abiodun insulted ordinary Nigerians is spurious, malicious, and lacks any rational basis.
“Elementary rules of language indicate that the meaning of an expression resides in its context: Governor Abiodun could not have been referring to ordinary Nigerians as the sponsors of a faceless and leaderless protest.
“While Governor Abiodun did indeed mention sore losers, he was clearly emphasizing irredentist opposition leaders who do not wish this administration well, urging them to prepare for the 2027 polls instead of mindlessly discrediting every government policy just to excite passions and incite people against the government.
“To stretch his use of the word ‘Nigerians’ beyond its intended referents in this context is, therefore, to engage in intellectual fraud and plain mischief.
“Governor Abiodun has the utmost respect for the protesters, and he has made that clear on many occasions.”
The post #EndBadGovernance: ‘I Didn’t Call Nigerians Sore Losers’ – Gov Abiodun appeared first on Naija News.