The playwright said he "did not at any time or on any occasion issue such a statement."

Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has disowned another political quote attributed to him.

In a statement he sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, the professor of Comparative Literature said he "did not at any time or on any occasion issue such a statement."

"Quote me anywhere, Nigerians don't need the likes of Atiku and Obasanjo to lead them again. We have tasted the two: Atiku Is Corrupt and Obasanjo is a liar. Both of them are greedy and self-centred... .," the quote attributed to Mr Soyinka reads.

"Anybody, any cabal, any Viju milk activist, attempting to humiliate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must have me to contend with.

" An average PDP man is angry with Asiwaju because he brought them to their knees. If anyone thinks that bringing down Asiwaju is his project, that mission will not only crash but it will boomerang. He owns Lagos! I hear you! Ask your grandfather and parents how they acquired your so-called family land. Is it God that allocated it to them?"

Rebuttal

The novelist said that the quotes are "simply the works of peddlers of fake news and falsehood, who profit from misinformation to gain political advantages."

Mr Soyinka advised the media and members to ignore the message.

"The media and members of the public are advised to Ignore the message or any other political message that addresses or targets any political party or political actor," he urged.

In an opinion piece in January, Mr Soyinka debunked some quotes attributed to him.

"Northern Nigeria will continue to control the government no matter who becomes the president. This is because they created a fraudulent constitution in Nigeria, a fraudulent population in the Northwest and more states in the North," a section of the quotes read.

Mr Soyinka said that the fake news peddlers "lack the balls to answer their fathers' names. There is an appropriate name for them, but we shall avoid using it here."