The proliferation of fake news has led to moves being made by the Presidency to curb the menace ahead of the 2023 elections.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the Presidency, on Saturday, June 11, revealed how an unnamed “powerful man” engages in fake news capable of heating the polity.
According to Shehu, the unnamed culprit runs a “Hausa Times” and the publication has been reported to Twitter for further action.
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The Presidency, in a tweet, said;
A certain “Hausa Times,” specializing in fake news and misleading information on people, is now on the rampage. Using IT tools, it is now known that it is sponsored by a powerful man. We have done our part by reporting them to Twitter. Let’s see what follows.
A certain “Hausa Times,” specializing in fake news and misleading information on people, is now on the rampage. Using IT tools, it is now known that it is sponsored by a powerful man. We have done our part by reporting them to Twitter. Let’s see what follows.
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) June 11, 2022
Earlier in the week, Shehu had stated that tens of millions of Nigerians voted for President Muhammadu Buhari and that led to his victory in the 2015 general elections.
Shehu’s statement was in reaction to comments by a presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, during a meeting with party delegates in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
While Tinubu had said he played a critical role in the events that led to President Buhari’s victory in 2015, he has since clarified that he was taken out of context, adding that he holds the President in high esteem.
But Shehu, in his reaction, stated that President Buhari defeated the then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan because of the millions of votes he garnered at the poll.
According to him, it is very wrong and out of place for anyone to claim responsibility or take credit for the President’s victory in that election.
The Presidency had noted;
It is perhaps not surprising that on the eve of the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer primary there are those running as candidates who wish to associate themselves with the President’s rise to elected office seven years ago.
There are many people who played parts large and small in his historic election in 2015, making history as the first opposition candidate to defeat a sitting president with power changing hands peacefully at the ballot box.
