Claim: A video uploaded on YouTube claims that Dr. Isa Pantami, the minister of communications has been sacked by President Buhari.
The claim that Dr. Isa Pantami, the minister of communications, has been sacked by President Buhari is false. The claim is a case of misleading headline with baseless content. Currently, both the president’s and Pantami’s aides have discredited the claim as false.
Full text
A video on YouTube shared on April 20th, 2021 claims that Dr. Isa Pantami, the minister of communication, has been sacked by President Buhari.
Dr. Pantami, who has been under fire over acclaimed extremist comments he has made in the past, has also been the subject of discussion in recent times. As some call for his resignation, others are of the contrary opinion.
It is in line with these ongoing happenings that a video, shared by a YouTube channel (Independent TV 7) purports that the minister has been sacked by president Buhari.
The video has attracted over 290 views within 48 hours of its appearance. This may in part be because of the dashing headline that was tagged to the video: “Breaking News!! BUHARI Order The Sack Of Isa PANTAMI And Been Kicked Out…”
Verification
First, DUBAWA uncovered that there was no news story anywhere online, particularly from credible media outlets, that relates to Pantami’s sack, aside from the claim.
Furthermore, the narrative in the video turned out to be redundant, as nowhere was it stated in the eight-minutes video that the minister had been sacked.
The headline was merely a hooker that was neither mentioned in the video nor clearly expressed or specified in the video.
When DUBAWA reached out to Ms. Uwa Suleiman, the spokesperson to the Minister of Communications, she clarified in a phone conversation that the claim is false. “This is not true, please disregard,” she said.
In the same vein, the Special Assistant to the President, Garba Shehu, also confirmed that the claim is totally untrue.
This is not the first time DUBAWA has come across misleading headlines with unrelated content, such as in this case.
Conclusion
Though multiple controversies have been looming around the minister of communication and digital economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, President Mohammed Buhari has not sacked him. Therefore, the claim, as depicted in the headline of the Youtube video is false; it is a case of misleading headline and baseless content.
