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Claim: A viral video clip allegedly shows Senate President Godswill Akpabio telling Nigerians to go for free food whenever they see one.
Verdict: Misleading. The video is real but not as recent as suggested. Mr Akpabio’s comment was to his colleagues at a dinner in 2023, not Nigerians.
Full Text
A video clip recently circulating on social media has put Senate President Godswill Akpabio in the spotlight for allegedly telling Nigerians to go for free food whenever they see one because of the country’s economic hardship.
The eight-second clip has been circulating on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and WhatsApp. It was also shared here, here and here.
In the video, a voice that sounds like Mr Akpabio says, “Times are difficult, and wherever you see free food, please endeavour to avail yourself.”
Apart from many social media users attacking Mr Akpabio because of the clip, some newspapers, like the West African Pilot, Nigerian Tribune and Peoples Gazette, published stories about it, and several blogs feasted on it.
“They know that things are seriously tough, and this is what Akpabio has to say to Nigerians,” one X user, who commented on the clip, said of Mr Akpabio.
“They have turned half of the country’s population to beggars, seeking free food.”
Verification
The video suggests that Mr Akpabio made the comment during the plenary. To fact-check the video, PREMIUM TIMES reviewed plenaries of the Senate from June 13, 2023, to January 2024.
The Senate chamber shown in the video is the temporary chamber, which the senators had stopped using since May 2024 when they moved to the permanent chamber. The senators have had no reason to return to the old chamber afterwards.
While the voice in the clip is truly that of Mr Akpabio, the comment is not recent. The Senate president made this comment on June 14, 2023, a day after the inauguration of the 10th Assembly.
A review of the video of the plenary on June 14, 2023, showed that Mr Akpabio said, “Times are difficult, and wherever you see free food, please endeavour to avail yourself.”
He was referring to a dinner organised in his honour and the deputy president of the Senate after their inauguration.
Mr Akpabio’s comment was towards his colleagues, not Nigerians. The video shows the senators laughing at Mr Akpabio’s comment.
DUBAWA also spoke to Eseme Eyiboh, the special adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, who mentioned to us that it was manipulated out of mischief and was done intentionally.
“It was a lighter mood. The precarious act of taking a video of Jun 14, 2023, to manipulate it out of context is not only mischief but going on an unknown and known mission against the Senate president,” Mr Eyiboh said.
Conclusion
The viral video of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, commenting on the economic hardship in Nigeria was found to be misleading. Verification confirmed that the clip, originally recorded on June 14, 2023, was taken out of context.
Editor’s Note: This fact check was first published by Premium Times.
