The Presidency has debunked claims that President Bola Tinubu took some eminent Nigerians to Paris to testify in Nigeria's defense. Buhari

The Presidency has debunked claims that President Bola Tinubu took some eminent Nigerians to Paris to testify in Nigeria’s defense.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga stated this in a press statement signed and released Saturday night, titled ‘President Tinubu Did Not Drag Any Eminent Nigerian to Paris.’

An online news platform reported that former President Buhari was summoned before a court in Paris to testify in an arbitration proceeding over the $6bn Mambilla power contract dispute.

According to the report, Buhari was “hauled before the court on Saturday for breaching the terms of a power generation and distribution contract awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company of Nigeria by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.”

But Onanuga described the proceeding as entirely confidential, saying that it should not have been reported in the media because it is entirely confidential until the international arbitrators decide.

“The attention of the Presidency has been drawn to some fake news on social media about an arbitration proceeding in Paris to which the Nigerian Government is a party.

“The private proceeding, which should not have been reported in the media, is entirely confidential until the international arbitrators decide. While respecting the confidentiality of the proceeding, we wish to state categorically that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not forced anyone to testify for or to refrain from testifying against Nigeria.

“All the eminent Nigerians involved in Nigeria’s defense are doing so willingly and out of sheer patriotism and conviction,” Onanuga said in a statement.

In this article