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Claim: An X user claims President Bola Tinubu has recently reduced Nigeria’s cost of governance due to the #EndBadGovernance protest in the country.
Verdict: Misleading! Contrary to the X user’s assertion, President Tinubu did not reduce due to the demonstration. Media reports show that the decision was made on Jan. 2024, before the protest.
Full Text
On Aug. 1, 2024, a multitude of aggrieved Nigerians trooped out for #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests to demand a decline in market inflation and President Bola Tinubu’s reversal of controversial policies like naira floatation and fuel subsidy removal.
An X user, @SabinaNkiru, posted a video asserting that President Tinubu has cut the cost of governance in response to the clamours of aggrieved Nigerians during the protest.
The caption on the post reads, “Tinubu allegedly cuts the cost of governance in response to the demands of the #EndBadGovernaceInNigerian protest. Long police entourage from Abuja to Lagos and Item 7 for international travels removed.”
In the five-minute clip, Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson, reels out how the president divided the cost of governance.
As of the time of filing this report, the post had amassed over 270,000 views, 880 likes, 560 reposts, 192 quotes, and 520 bookmarks since it was posted on August 7, 2024.
When checked, DUBAWA observed that although some users in the comment section believed the clip’s authenticity, others doubted it.
“I think I have seen (a) similar video before,” @Chinasaawo, an X user, wondered.
Another application user, @Neduu_09, said: “Old video.”
“[The] office of the First Lady makes me really pissed. Why, for God’s sake, am I paying for your wife to travel? What economic benefit do we get from finding your wife’s trips? I am so livid(?)” @Paul_Khalifa_II wrote.
The need to correct misinformation during this post-protest period prompted DUBAWA to verify the post’s veracity.
Verification
DUBAWA carried out a Google reverse image search on the screen grabs of the video to determine its recency. We came across a video post by Arise TV that shows the video has been on the internet since Jan. 2024.
According to Arise TV, the president issued a directive mandating a substantial reduction in entourage for domestic and international events as cost-cutting measures.
The television broadcast station mentioned that the directive, amounting to a 60 per cent reduction, applies to all Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President, the First Lady’s office, and the wife of the Vice President.
Probing further, we used this available information to conduct keyword searches.
Premium Times newspaper reported on Jan. 9, 2024, that Mr Tinubu reduced the number of officials accompanying him and other top government officials on any foreign trip.
The newspaper quoted Mr Ngelale, who spoke at a media briefing at the Presidential Villa earlier that day, saying that the cost-cutting exercise affects the entire federal government apparatus, including the office of the President, vice president, and first lady.
Likewise, both Leadership and Vanguard newspapers reported the development.
Finally, DUBAWA reviewed Mr Ngelale’s official X account to see if he made a post highlighting the cost of governance about the just-concluded nationwide protest but found nothing related.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings reveal that President Tinubu’s directive was made some months before the nationwide protest in August, contrary to the claim. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
