Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina on Friday denied rumour that the aircraft with which President Muhammadu Buhari recently travelled to the United States developed fault mid-air.
Speaking at the public presentation of a book 101 fake news on EndSARS in Abuja, Mr Adesina described the rumour as “fake news” saying he was on the flight and nothing of such happened.
“It didn’t happen. I was on that flight,” he said. “We took off from New York, went straight to Santa Maria in Portugal where we refuelled. We took off and flew straight to Nigeria.
“Where is the mishap? It is a lie. It never happened…Do you know the number of people that have been misled by this fake news?”
Adesina said “fake news” threatens not only Nigeria but the whole world, calling on the traditional media to be wary of it.
“We must not allow digital media to be used to destroy our country. Digital media is good, but there is evil embedded in it,” Adesina said.
The presidential mouthpiece expressed disappointment that members of the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere allowed themselves to be misled by false news about his recent comparison between Buhari and some past political leaders.
CEO of the publishing company PRNigeria, Yushau Shuaib, reviewed the 207-page book authored by journalist Dahiru Lawal.
He said it was intended to highlight the threat fake news poses to societal peace and security.
