By Our Correspondent
National News – Nigerian relationship coach and social media personality Blessing Okoro, popularly called Blessing CEO, has insisted she will not apologise to the public following controversy surrounding her breast cancer disclosure.
The influencer made the statement during an interview with Egungun of Lagos published on Saturday, where she also clarified that she raised about N13m in donations, not the widely reported N100m.
Okoro said she had no reason to apologise to Nigerians who felt misled by earlier reports suggesting she had stage four breast cancer.
According to her, she may have misunderstood the information initially given by doctors.
She explained that she is still undergoing medical evaluations and has not yet received a final diagnosis on the exact stage of the illness.
The social media personality stated that she recently completed several medical tests and expects her oncologist to confirm the stage of the cancer during her next hospital visit.
She also revealed that she has not begun chemotherapy, adding that the most recent procedure carried out was a biopsy following the discovery of a lump in her breast.
Okoro explained that the health scare began last year when she detected the lump.
Initial medical tests reportedly showed it was non-cancerous, but further examinations later indicated that the lump could be cancerous.
Despite growing pressure online, she maintained that she would not publish her medical reports publicly, describing them as private medical information.
The controversy intensified after social media users questioned the authenticity of her claims and demanded proof of diagnosis.
A woman identified as Deborah Mbara also accused Okoro of allegedly editing medical documents to deceive the public.
Adding another dimension to the dispute, businessman Alafaa Kariboye-Igbo, popularly known as Oil Money, claimed he donated N20m to support her treatment and has demanded a refund through a legal letter, giving her seven days to return the money or face legal action.
Despite the criticism, Okoro used the interview to encourage women to carry out regular breast self-examinations and raise awareness about breast cancer detection.
She stressed that early detection remains vital for survival and urged women to check for unusual lumps daily.
