The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has raised the alarm over an alleged doctored video of her last appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.
A statement by her media aide, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, said the video, which had been uploaded by an online news medium, Premium Times, was substantially different from the one which was independently captured and broadcast by a popular private television, which many Nigerians have seen.
According to the statement, the video uploaded by the online medium was edited to leave out important aspects with the clear intention to make the minister look like the aggressor during the appearance.
Describing this portrayal as false, the statement pointed out that many aspects of the encounter, which captured the provocation of the Chair of the committee were edited out to give a wrong impression.
“For instance, the new video left out his hostile statement “you can decide what happens only in the Federal Ministry of Finance and other ministers you coordinate but you cannot decide what will happen in the committee.
“This was after the minister indicated her willingness to answer the questions along with the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation and the Accountant General of the Federation.
“Also edited out, among others, was the unilateral banging of the gavel by the Chair of the Committee to abruptly terminate the proceedings and the astonished reactions of the audience,” the statement added.
It stressed that the online medium did not identify the source of the video which it described as an “exclusive.”
“The clear objective is to deceive Nigerians who were rightly outraged by the treatment meted out to the minister. But we are confident that Nigerians are too wise to fall for this antic,” Nwabuikwu said, and directed interested members of the public desirous of viewing the authentic video account of the encounter to visit.
Source: This Day
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