APC condemns “slanderous” attack on Akpabio by VeryDarkMan over Pope’s funeral trip

The South-South Zonal chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a strong condemnation of social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, demanding he apologize within one week for his “disparaging” remarks against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The APC’s statement, released Sunday, accused VeryDarkMan of crossing the line from activism into slander, specifically regarding his criticism of Akpabio’s leadership of a Nigerian delegation to Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican.

Zonal Organizing Secretary of the South-South APC, Blessing Agbomhere, issued the statement in Abuja, responding to VeryDarkMan’s viral three-minute video where he labeled Akpabio’s presence in Rome as “shameful.” VeryDarkMan argued that the Senate President should have instead visited states plagued by violence, such as Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Ogun, and Enugu.

Agbomhere countered these claims, accusing VeryDarkMan of “blackmail, slander and character assassination while pretending to be an advocate for the masses and social crusader.”

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He questioned the influencer’s criticism of Akpabio’s role in the delegation, stating, “The unwarranted verbal attack on the number three citizen of Nigeria who did not send himself to Rome but was duly nominated by the President to lead a delegation to represent Nigeria. What exactly is wrong with that?”

Agbomhere defended Akpabio’s selection, asserting, “Being a devout Catholic and family man with unblemished character, President Tinubu saw in Akpabio a worthy ambassador of Nigeria to such an event as the Pope’s funeral and wasted no time in thrusting that responsibility on him. What is wrong with that?”

He issued a direct ultimatum to VeryDarkMan: “I am, with this statement, issuing VeryDarkMan a one-week ultimatum to immediately tender an unreserved apology to the Senate president for the slanderous comments and to desist from further bringing the integrity of the President Bola Tinubu led administration into disrepute in the eyes of the global community.”

Agbomhere also urged Nigerians to disregard VeryDarkMan’s “uninformed ranting,” and defended the Tinubu administration’s efforts to address insecurity.

“Upon his return from France and the UK, Tinubu met with the security chiefs and during the meeting, he gave them marching orders to ensure that a different approach is deployed in the fight against insecurity. Does this sound like a man who is not serious about protecting the lives and property of Nigerians? Mind you, the complex security problems in the country cannot be wished away with a wave of the hand; it takes time to achieve a semblance of peace, and that is a commitment that the Tinubu-led administration made to Nigerians while assuming office and is still committed to achieving,” he stated.

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