A claim that Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has appointed the incumbent Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, as his Chief of Staff has surfaced online.
The claim retrieved on June 1, 2023 from various online blogs stated that the announcement was made official Thursday morning during a meeting which was presided by the president.
Others claimed that the announcement was made by Gbajabiamila’s aide, Olanrewaju Smart Wasiu, via his facebook page.
READ : Shettima makes false claim about Tinubu on first female deputy governor, state chief judge
The claim can be found here , here and here. It has also made its way into closed WhatsApp groups.
Gbajabiamila was re-elected for a 6th term during the nation’s 2023 general elections held in February.
CLAIM
Tinubu appoints Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that this claim is FALSE.
Femi Gbajabiamila’s aide, Olanrewaju Smart Wasiu had taken to his Facebook page to debunk the announcement as fake news in a post.
Fake news is a monster 👹 that must be curbed. Kindly ignore any fake news quoting this account for posting about any political appointment. Nothing of such was ever posted here. Wasiu stated.
There have been no official announcement from the Nigerian President or government sources confirming the appointment.
READ ALSO : Akpabio repeats false claim about Lagos IGR under Tinubu
In a reaction, the Guardian reported that Gbajabiamila told newsmen to “be patient… allow the system work” while speaking on the issue.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Tinubu has appointed Femi Gbajabiamila as his Chief of Staff is FALSE; findings revealed that Gbajabiamila’s aide has debunked the statement.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
*In first major appointments, Tinubu finally named Femi Gbajabiamila as his Chief of Staff, hours after Gbajabiamila’s aide debunked it. Please, note that the claim was FALSE as at the time this fact-check was published.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
