PARIS, FRANCE - DECEMBER 6: Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan arrives for a dinner with the French President as part of the Summit for Peace and Security in Africa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on December 6, 2013. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Former Nigerian president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has denied reports alleging that he received the sum of $200 million as kickback from the controversial  Malabu oil deal.

In a statement made available in Abuja on Tuesday through his media adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan stated that the story released by Buzzfeed, an American online news medium, was fake, false and sponsored by those hell bent on pulling down his rising international profile.

“Common sense should have shown the purveyors of this slander that the Malabu oil deal far predated the Jonathan regime and it would only make sense for him to be bribed if he had a time machine to go back in time to when the deal was done,” the statement said.

While urging the media to report facts rather than rumour, the statement pointed out that Jonathan, while in and out of office, did not and does not have or own any bank account, aircraft or real estate that would have been a proof that he collected bribes.