On Tuesday, September 22, 2014, Aso Rock issued a statement to Nigerians announcing President Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The press statement signed by Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesman, mentioned, specifically, that Buhari was traveling with three governors – Sokoto, Kaduna, and Niger.
This State House press statement was published widely by Nigerian media. Read it on Daily Post, Daily Sun, News Express, The News, Olisa The Blogazine, Stella Dimoko-Korkus, Ekekeee, and Timbuktoo Media. And Nigerians began to take up issues with him traveling with only Northern governors.
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In response to this backlash from Nigerians, suddenly, on Wednesday, September 23, 2015, Sahara Reporters manufactured a new delegation list for Buhari’s United Nations trip, in this new list, the governor of Cross River, Professor Ben Ayade was used to replace the Sokoto governor. The report also published by Nigerian news site, Naij referenced a “Sahara Reports’ source“.
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How come a corrupt website like Sahara Reporters is being used to change the official press statement of the Buhari government? At what point did Femi Adesina know that the Cross River governor was on the delegation and not Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State? Why didn’t Femi Adesina communicate this change through formal channels to the news media? This is irresponsible information management. In fact, THIS IS FRAUD!
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The Buhari government thinks that we are all fools they can manipulate with propaganda. If the federal government wanted to change the list, it should have issued a new press statement or a correction to the first.
Femi Adesina thinks he can get away with cow boy journalism because he is hiding behind the Presidency to do it, using discredited willing partners-in-deception like Sahara Reporters. He wants to manipulate Nigerians with misinformation and distractive tactics.
Nigerians are not fooled.
See the edited list with a lot of discredited anti-Jonathan propaganda pushed out by a compromised website, Sahara Reporters >> Buhari Attending UN General Assembly With 22-Man Delegation, Nigeria’s Slimmest In Decades.
Euphemia Udanoh is an author, scriptwriter, and youth activist. She can be reached by email. Connect with her on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
