By Straightnews
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has denied a claim by Simon Ekpa, a Biafran political activist, that she facilitated a $57.5 billion loan for the Biafra Republic Government in exile.
The rebuttal came in response to a post by Ekpa on X (formerly Twitter), where he falsely claimed that Okonjo-Iweala had helped secure a loan from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ekpa’s tweet dated October 23, 2024, implied that the loan was meant to support the formation of the Biafra government following a planned declaration of independence on December 2, 2024.
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“The World Bank and IMF have agreed to loan the sum of $57.5 billion to Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE) to form our government after December 2nd 2024 declaration of Biafra.
“I thank our sister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for helping me to facilitate the loan,” he wrote,
However, Okonjo-Iweala, in a terse statement on her personal X account, debunked the claim, saying that no sensible person would believe such an “outrageous tweet.”
She said, “I know no sensible person will believe what is contained in the outrageous tweet below, but in these troubled times, it is important to underscore that the statement is false. Again, I enjoin all those seeking to misuse my name to desist!”
I know no sensible person will believe what is contained in the outrageous tweet below but in these troubled times it is important to underscore that the statement is false. Again I enjoin all those seeking to misuse my name to desist! pic.twitter.com/rVE4U0b1tq
— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) October 24, 2024
Ekpa denies post
In another tweet, Simon Ekpa denied publishing the alleged statement, linking the post to nonentities.
According to him: “I never tweeted such, it is even surprising that you can tweet this because your name was mentioned, we have been tweeting about the terrorism against your people and you never responded nor showed any remorse.
“Here you are, defending what nonentities did with your name, but have been mute about all the killings by the government you served. I congratulate you for always defending yourself and your integrity, even when they are photoshopped.
“It shows you are really a mother. Thank you for defending yourself but I never tweeted such thing, it is false and fake.”