The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has dismissed as fake and malicious a viral social media post falsely attributed to her, which purportedly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of insecurity in Nigeria.

The post, titled “Trump didn’t ‘hit’ us – our leaders did,” alleged that Okonjo-Iweala accused Nigerian leaders of prioritising rhetoric over decisive action against banditry and insurgency. It further claimed that the former Finance Minister urged Tinubu to stop making “damage control speeches” and focus on securing the people.

Responding swiftly via her verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, Okonjo-Iweala clarified that the post did not originate from her and warned the public against believing or sharing the false information. She also stated that legal action is being taken against those responsible for the impersonation.

“Beware, this story going around on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook is false! We are taking action! The person who did this could not even spell my name,” she wrote.

The clarification underscores the growing concern over misinformation targeting public figures on social media platforms.