The presidency has refuted news on the sacking of the three cabinet ministers.
The ministers include ministers of defence and power, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, Bello Matawalle and Adebayo Adelabu, respectively.
Reacting to the news via X on Tuesday, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, called on security agencies to take urgent action against fake news websites and platforms and the purveyors who fail to check the authenticity of the stories and make them go viral.
The response titled; Fake News Alert: Ministers Not Sacked, Ignore Phoenix’s False Report
This is to inform the general public that the story titled “BREAKING: Tinubu Sacks Ministers of Defence and Power”, published by Phoenix Browser, is completely false, misleading, and devoid of any factual basis. At no point has President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dismissed the Ministers of Defence or Power. This falsehood, presented as breaking news, is nothing but reckless propaganda designed to misinform the public.
To set the record straight, the most recent cabinet changes announced in October 2024 did not include the Ministers of Defence or Power. Those affected were Ministers of Women Affairs, Tourism, Education, State for Housing and Urban Development, and Youth Development. Furthermore, ten ministers were reassigned, and seven new nominees were presented for Senate confirmation, all of which were officially documented and widely reported by credible media platforms.
It is highly recommended that Nigerians disregard the fabricated report by Phoenix Browser. Simply said, it’s sensationalist hogwash and fake news, and it should be handled with the disdain it merits.
The statement said that 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.
‘’Please depend on official government channels and trusted news outlets for accurate and verified information,’’ the statement said.
