Former Rivers commissioner seeks N500 million damages from ThisDay

Former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr Austin Tam-George has taken legal action against the publishers of ThisDay Newspapers for attributing a statement to him, which he said he never made.

In a report titled "Wike and the Trouble Within" published by Thisday on Sunday, July 9, Tam-George was quoted as having said, "Wike does not have any good dream for Rivers State. Commissioners serving under Gov Wike can no longer pay the school fees of their wards, Gov Wike is running a one man show Government and I've decided not to be part of such Government again."

But in a letter to ThisDay, through his lawyers, Adegboruwa and Co., a prominent law firm in Lagos, the former commissioner said the statement was a malicious and deliberate fabrication intended to damage his reputation.

Tam-George demanded an immediate retraction and apology from the newspaper.

The former commissioner, who was once an Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellow, and lecturer at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is also demanding N500 million in damages from ThisDay.

The letter sent to ThisDay by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Dr Tam-George's lawyer, says, "The said malicious and libelous publication, despite several clarifications availed your company, was with an already made-up agenda, deliberately published and circulated by your company with the full knowledge and awareness of its consequences and implications on the feeling, integrity, character, business, career and reputation of our client."

The letter seeks immediate retraction and apology to be published in three national dailies, and the payment of N500 million in damages to the former commissioner.

Last month, GovernorNyesom Wike dissolved the state's Executive Council, relieving all commissioners of their duties.

Dr Tam-George had resigned two days before the cabinet dissolution without giving any explanation for his decision.