By Innocent Anaba

CIVIL society organisations, CSOs, made up of activists, lawyers, and Council of Ethnic Youth Leaders of Nigeria, CEYLN, yesterday, urged The Washington Post not to lend itself to a global media campaign against AITEO Eastern E&P Company Limited and its founder, Mr. Benedict Peters.

At a joint media briefing by the group, Mr. Tochukwu Ohazuruike faulted a story by one of the international media organisation’s writers, Mr. Peter Whoriskey, on AITEO and Peters, which objective, according to him, was to cause serious damage to their reputation.

Whoriskey had, in the publication, tried to link Aiteo Group and Peters to former Petroleum minister, Dieziani Alison-Madueke.

Ohazuruike said: “There are plethora of questions which the international media organisation, rather, has to answer and which directly call to question its genuineness in permitting this to happen. It will be damning to the long-held image of The Washington Post that its staff have yielded the platform of the medium to use for a global smear campaign and unhealthy business rivalry.”

On the allegations against Peters, the groups said: “Mr Peters has stated severally that he has never received any favour by way of facilitation or otherwise from Dieziani Alison-Madueke, and there was, therefore, nothing to be grateful for. He has severally denounced any such attempt to link the purchase of his property with Dieziani under such premises.

“The purchase of the furniture was in furtherance of his desire to furnish a property that belonged to him, and that furniture can be found, even today, at his said property at 58, Harley House. No furniture that belonged to him can be found at any other place other than in his property.

“The furniture found at the UK address of Dieziani AlisonMadueke does not belong to him, and certainly could not have been the same found in his said property at 58, Harley House.

“Our answers should discourage future smear campaigns as this is not the first time it was happening.

 “We hope that with these answers, we would have satisfied Whoriskey and get him to alert his sponsors that the plot is dead on arrival and cannot be revived.

“We also say to all such persons who would in the future want to regurgitate these issues that the answers are already available in the public space as there is nothing hidden and there is nothing any media house can unearth again so no need taking any jobs from the sponsors of this smear campaign.”