The Presidency has officially refuted claims that President Bola Tinubu awarded a national honour to activist Aisha Yesufu, dismissing the reports as false.
In a statement issued on Friday, Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, labelled the circulating list of honourees as “fake news” and urged the public to disregard it.
The misinformation appears to have stemmed from an unverified list, allegedly published by Leadership newspaper, which named Yesufu among the recipients of national awards.
“The story on a viral list of national honours featuring the name of Aisha Yesufu and others credited to Leadership newspaper is fake news. It should be ignored,” Ajayi stated via his official X account.
Ajayi emphasized that no additional honours were awarded beyond those officially announced during President Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech at the National Assembly.
Among the verified recipients were former Senator and human rights advocate Shehu Sani and several other notable Nigerians.
The rumoured inclusion of Yesufu’s name sparked widespread debate online, given her outspoken criticism of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Responding to claims that the honour was a reward for alleged political support, Yesufu firmly denied the notion, writing, “God forbid! It can never be this Aisha Yesufu. Thank you.”
A prominent figure in the Bring Back Our Girls campaign and a vocal supporter of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, Yesufu has consistently challenged the policies of the current administration.
Her appearance on the unauthenticated list was broadly viewed as implausible, fueling misinformation across social media.
The Presidency’s clarification seeks to put the matter to rest and prevent further spread of inaccurate information regarding the conferment of national honours.
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