Claim: A viral tweet asserts that the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered the shutdown of Opay, Kuda, and Palmpay.
Verdict: FALSE. We found no press release by CBN or news story on the claim. The Twitter user has also deleted the tweet.
Full Text
Amid the new naira note controversy, a viral tweet by Olamide (@DymanFocus) suggests that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, has ordered the shutdown of OPay, Kuda and Palmpay offices in Nigeria with immediate effect starting from February 16, 2023.
This made many Nigerians panic, and without verification, people started removing their monies from the said banks and sharing with family and friends on WhatsApp and groups on Facebook to do the same.
The vitality of this claim and the delicate nature of the Naira issue prompted us to verify it because this kind of tweet can lead to fear, unrest and cause panic for people using any of the said banks.
Verification
Going through the post, we found that in a follow-up thread, the Twitter user @dymanfocus noted that his source was “expired weed and loud.” This was a major red flag.
We discovered that the original tweet was later deleted.
DUBAWA visited the website of CBN but did not find any on this or anything related. A keyword search also shows this is not in the news. We found a disclaimer by Opay on its verified handle on Instagram @opay.ng.
“Our attention has been drawn to a post (tweet) making rounds across social media platforms about Opay. The post mentioning the CBN shitting down our operations is false and misleading to the general public,” the disclaimer reads.
The official Twitter page for Palmpay Nigeria @palmpay Nigeria has also debunked the rumour assuring Nigerians that they are still in operation and reliable.
Conclusion
Our finding shows that the post is false. We found no press release or news story corroborating the claim, and the Twitter user deleted the tweet.
