By Abiola Olawale
The Presidency has debunked circulating rumours about the alleged sack of the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.
This is as the Presidency labelled the reports as “fake news” and urged the public to disregard them.
The development went viral after some media reports emerged with the headline ‘BREAKING: Tinubu Sacks Ministers of Defence and Power’.
Reacting swiftly, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle late Tuesday night to decry the rise of fake news and urged security agencies to take decisive steps against those behind such falsehoods.
He clarified that no such decision had been made by President Bola Tinubu.
“Security agencies must urgently take action against fake news websites and platforms and the purveyors who fail to check the authenticity of the stories and make them go viral,” Onanuga said.
He warned that unrestrained fabrication of stories under the guise of press freedom poses a serious threat to democracy and social cohesion.
“Press freedom and freedom of speech will not exist when some people can wake up and concoct their news and narratives without regard for truth. Fake news is simply licentiousness and must be criminalised,” Onanuga added.
