By Charles Okonji
Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Russia has alerted the public to be wary of entities who are illegally using its name and logo to deceive unsuspecting citizens.
Mr Sampson Uwem-Edimo, Chairman, NIDO Russia, raised the alarm during an online news conference on Thursday.
Uwem-Edimo said the clarification was imperative as its attention has been drawn to many political engagements, some of which could backfire on its position as non-partisan organisation and non-allied in geopolitical posture.
He said it was also in response to numerous complaints from its members, partners and stakeholders in Russia and elsewhere, who are being impacted by the activities of the impersonator.
“Our attention has been drawn to several public video recordings, publications in the print and electronic media and commercials, in which one individual in Russia, with the name Dr Godwin Ibe has been confusing or deceiving the public by presenting his entity as the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO-RUSSIA).
“We at Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Russia, a chapter of the umbrella organisation of Nigerians Diaspora in Europe have decided to set the records straight and notify the unsuspecting public that the so called “NIDO-Russia”, which Dr Godwin Ibe leads, is not the same as the “Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe, Russia Chapter (NIDO-Russia)”.
“We therefore disassociate ourselves from all comments, interviews and publications that have been made by this individual and regard his actions as fraudulent as he had no authorisation to represent NIDO Russia,” he said.
According to him, the impersonator has been making political statements about the terrorist attack in Moscow, noting that NIDO Russia can’t be held responsible for the statement of an imposter.
He noted that the impersonator was intentionally using its logo and similar name as its website in a bid to draw traffic to his website.
According to him, the deception is also to make their position prominent and benefit from the goodwill and popularity of NIDO RUSSIA among Nigerians and the Russian public.
Uwem-Edimo called on the public, particularly the press in Nigeria and Russia to be wary of the situation and avoid being misled to misrepresent its organisation by presenting and transmitting the impersonator’s message.
He stressed that the impersonators are not members of its organisation nor known to NIDO-Europe nor NiDCOM as one of the structures (Chapters) of the mainstream NIDO in Russia.
Dr Bashir Obasekola, Chairman, NIDO Europe, said NIDO Russia Chapter has been in existence since 2000 with a mission of promoting investment and opportunities that would assist Nigeria’s developmental process.
Obasekola said that all Chapters don’t delve into geopolitical issues, noting that dabbling into such might affect their further stay in host countries.
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