"This cable is not certified"

Hello, so I have an iPhone 5c and the uncertified cable message keeps popping up even though nothing is plugged in.

We had terrible weather today and a passing car showed me with water, my iPhone didn't get wet except the lightning port, almost immediately after the supposed damage I started to get the cable/accessory error. When I came home I gently cleaned the lightning port with a tooth pick and lightly dried it with a hairdryer.

The issue seemed to be gone and when I plugged in the phone it was charging just fine. But, after it fully charged I unplugged it and after about an hour plugged it back in, thats when the cable wasn't recognised and I stared to panic.

The cable that I usually use (not made by apple, but certified) kept giving me the error message. I tried the original cable, witch I haven't been using since after a few months the coating of the cable basically just fell apart, and that cable was not recognised at all, I mean no message, nothing, as if I didn't plug anything in. After about an hour of trying everything that is possible I got it charging again, this time from the wall and with the broken cable.

I am going to go to the official Apple resellers and ask about this issue, but I'm not sure they are going to be any help since we don't have an Apple store in my country. This phone was given to me by me relatives and it doesn't have any documentation, nor warranty.

I hope I won't need to replace the connector inside the phone since that will be very expensive.

If there is any advice you could give I would be very thankful