President speaks on 2 biggest obstacles to 2019 election

President Muhammadu Buhari says disinformation and fake news remains the biggest obstacles to the 2019 general elections.

President Buhari stated this at the Nigeria Governor’s Forum conference for media handlers of state executives in Abuja on Monday, October 23, 2017.

Represented by the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, the President described the trend as an ‘evil twins’ and potent weapons in the hands of naysayers.

His words: “This is the most difficult time for anyone to find himself or herself in your position. Why? Because in addition to working with a tight budget, you face the double tragedy of disinformation and fake news, buoyed to a large extent by the advent of Social Media.

“Never before have these 'evil twins' of disinformation and fake news permeated the public space as they have now and, make no mistakes about it, they have become potent weapons in the hands of naysayers.

“Sadly, they will be the biggest obstacle facing you from now till the 2019 general elections, whether you believe it or not.

“In recent days, you have all seen the dangers posed, not just to you but even the general public, by those who have chosen to deploy disinformation and fake news as a weapon of choice.

“First, they created unnecessary panic in the society by claiming that Monkey Pox resulted from the Federal Government's deliberate injection of people with the virus in certain states. We had hardly dispelled that when they claimed that the military, which is going beyond the call of duty to support the civilian populace, has been injecting school children with Monkey Pox, forcing many parents across a number of states to withdraw their children from school for days.

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“Imagine the implication of this on the affected children's education and health. Now, the disinformation is that ahead of the forthcoming election in Anambra, the government has been providing IPOB uniform to some people to cause mayhem, so they can in turn blame IPOB, and that many roads leading to Anambra will be closed before and after the elections, hence they advised Anambra residents to stay at home and not come out for the election.

“This is all disinformation, pure and simple. There is no such plan,” he added.

The President took a swing on former president Goodluck Jonathan who recently accused the federal government of “deploying lies and propaganda on a professional level.”

“Now, going hand in hand with disinformation and fake news is the new strategy of the naysayers to label the achievements of the government of the day as 'propaganda and lies' in order to discredit them. It is for you, at your level, to use concrete facts to showcase the achievements of your principals.

“Nigerians are brilliant and discerning, and won't be taken in by such deliberate denigration. But they also need facts and figures. For our Administration, our achievements are there for all to see.

“We are delivering in the broad areas that formed the plank of our policies: Security, fight against corruption and the economy, which includes the massive provision of infrastructure, ease of doing business and agriculture, just to mention a few,” he added.