Following the disclosure by the publisher of Thisday Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena that he received N120 million in March 2015 on behalf of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and 12 newspapers from office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, the management of Peoples Media Limited, the publishers of Peoples Daily, has denied being a beneficiary of the said funds.

Mr. Obaigbena had in a widely circulated statement on Thursday, confirmed receiving N120 million from the office of the former NSA following discussions he led as President of NPAN with former President Goodluck Jonathan, to avert a class action lawsuit the 12 newspapers’ companies were planning against the Federal Government of Nigeria and Armed Forces for the “unlawful seizure and stoppage of circulation by armed soldiers in Abuja and several cities”.

Peoples Daily was named as one the 12 newspapers that filed claims.

The issue came up after Mr. Obaigbena was named as one of those that benefitted from the $2.1 billion arms deal funds.

A statement by the Chief Operating Officer of Peoples Daily, Ali Ali, said the newspaper never received such money under whatever guise.

“One of the revelation on the current inquisition of the tenure of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) is that this newspaper, among several other national dailies, received the sum of N10million from the office of the former NSA through Nduka Obaigbena, the President of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN.

“This is new to us. At no time such money was made available to us in whatever guise. We wish to state clearly that it is false and therefore, wish to completely distance this medium from this revelation.

“We don’t know of others, therefore, we can’t speak for them”, said the newspaper.