Federal Government ‘Did Not Order Gold Iphones.

The presidency on Thursday evening issued
another denial that the government ordered
customized gold iPhones from a Dubai-based
British company to mark the country’s
53rd independence anniversary next month.
The report was first published on Tuesday by
The Independent, a London-based newspaper.
In yet another official reaction, presidential
spokesman Reuben Abati described the report
as not only false and misleading, but utterly
mischievous.
“It is instructive that despite the refutation of
the story by the company, which ought to have
laid the mischief to rest, a number of politically-
minded news media continue to insist on
promoting the blatant falsehood,” the statement
said. “We deplore their antics as yet another
attempt to use any trick or means possible to
discredit President Jonathan’s well-meaning,
hardworking and focused administration.”
He said the administration would not depart
from its “established habit” of what he
described as prudent management of resources
and modest celebration of the national
anniversary.
“We do not see any justification for such
extravagance either now or at any other time.
The Jonathan administration’s gold standard is
to continue to provide responsible, committed,
and result-oriented leadership, not to engage in
the purchase and distribution of party gifts.”
He noted that the Dubai-based firm has said
that the order for the said 53 gold Iphones was
placed by a private individual and not the
Nigerian Government, and urged the company
to go ahead and disclose the identity of that
individual.
Only yesterday, reporter Simon Usborne, who
wrote the original story for The Independent,
refused to retract the story, saying what he had
published was what Amjad Ali, the British owner
of Gold and Co., had told him. The reporter
suggested that Gold and Co was trying to re-
script the interview perhaps in reaction to the
attention and angry reaction of Nigerians.
“Seems boss of @goldandco got carried away,”
Usborne tweeted. “He now tells me a Nigerian
individual – not the govt. – ordered 53
anniversary gold iPhones.”
The Jonathan government, struggling with an
increasingly negative image on account of
various scandals, yesterday offered two denials,
one by Reno Omokri, Jonathan’s social media
assistant, and the other by Joseph Mutah, the
Press Secretary to the Minister of Information.
Full text of the statement:
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DID NOT ORDER
CUSTOMISED GOLD IPHONES FOR OCTOBER 1
We consider the reports in a section of the
media claiming that the Nigerian government
had ordered customized gold iPhones from a
Dubai-based company to mark the country’s
53rd independence anniversary in October not
only false and misleading, but utterly
mischievous.
It is instructive that despite the refutation of the
story by the company, which ought to have laid
the mischief to rest, a number of politically-
minded news media continue to insist on
promoting the blatant falsehood. We deplore
their antics as yet another attempt to use any
trick or means possible to discredit President
Jonathan’s well-meaning, hardworking and
focused administration.
It is certainly a matter of public record and
knowledge that since his assumption of office,
President Jonathan has ensured that October
1 independence-day anniversaries are low-key,
without any pomp or pageantry. Ironically, even
this prudence generated criticisms from a
cynical and opportunistic segment of the public
which alleged, in 2011, and again in 2012, that
the President was either too scared to celebrate
or that the government was broke.
This administration has no intention to depart
from its established habit of prudent
management of resources and modest
celebration of the country’s independence
anniversary. This year, the public should be
assured that the October 1 anniversary will also
be low-keyed. Neither the Federal Government
nor its agencies has ordered any gold iPhones
to mark the anniversary.
We do not see any justification for such
extravagance either now or at any other time.
The Jonathan administration’s gold standard is
to continue to provide responsible, committed,
and result-oriented leadership, not to engage in
the purchase and distribution of party gifts.
We urge the Dubai-based company, which has
since said that the order for the said 53 gold i-
phones was placed by a private individual and
not the Nigerian Government, to go ahead and
disclose the identity of that individual. We
appeal to the public to beware of the increasing
desperation of those with politically vested
interests, seeking to pull down this
administration. Their moral bankruptcy is
condemnable.
The Jonathan administration will remain
focused as it continues to serve the Nigerian
people diligently.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)