PDP Cronies In Hot Soup Over Unathorised Use Of Okagbare Footage, Image

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, Nigeria 2015 Election Friday, March 13th, 2015

Ayodele Afolabi, Abuja – The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation has challenged the ethical justification of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation on an unauthorized use of footage of a Nigerian athlete, Blessing Okagbare, as endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan, describing both the president and the PDP as chronic lairs.

The APCPCO, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu on Friday, noted that it was a shameful act that the PDP will steal the intellectual property of a Nigerian in its blind ambition of selling dummies to Nigerians about the popularity ratings of President Jonathan.

The statement pointed out that, “This particular incident will be the umpteenth time that this administration will lie to Nigerians about the president.

“Up till now, the government hasn’t come clean about what transpired in a diplomatic row the country currently has with Morocco over a purported telephone conversation. This government has also been consistent in its lies about the achievements of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

“From the arrest of the Ebola disease to other phoney claims of improvements in the living standard of Nigerians, the Goodluck Jonathan government has stood firm in rigmarole of falsehood in a futile attempt to project President Jonathan as what he is not.

“This president has failed Nigerians woefully; and that is why every of its lines of falsehood come out in bold reliefs before Nigerians.

“But to imagine that the government will commit such a shameful act as stealing from the intellectual property of a hardworking Nigerian athlete is most unimaginable,” the APCPCO stated.

The reigning African and Commonwealth tracks title holder, Okagbare is currently in a tango with a pro-Jonathan group, GoodHouse Nigeria over unauthorized usage of her footage in an advertorial endorsing President Jonathan for re-election.

“Someone out there is using my image, footage and everything I have worked for to make money through advert and campaign without seeking my approval.

“If an advert is being made with my footage and I am not aware of it, it shows how some of my country men back home can be so selfish, disrespectful and have no regard for people’s privacy.

“Now, I am here struggling on my own to pay my coach, nutritionist, doctor and others to make sure I am in good shape for the All Africa Games and the IAAF World Championship in Beijing, China, later in the year, and some people back home are using my image and footage for presidential campaign advertorial without seeking my approval.

“This is fraudulent because I am totally not in support of it. We called the people and they denied using my image and footage for a presidential advertorial. Who did it then? Why are they lying?” Okagbare stated this from her based in Los Angeles, USA.