Photo caption from right: President Bola Tinubu and his aide Bayo Onanuga: Photo credit: ICIR
Since taking office on May 29, 2023, the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his media team have frequently come under scrutiny for spreading misinformation and half-truths to shape public perception.
The presidency has repeatedly, through official press statements, social media posts, and media appearances, pushed narratives that often fall short of factual accuracy in some cases.
Last year, when Tinubu clocked one year in office, The FactCheckHub examined how the president’s media team, led then by Ajuri Ngelale, spread misinformation regarding the UAE visa ban and NASDAQ’s closing bell, among others.
Though Ngelale has stepped down, the spread of false or misleading information by the presidency and media aides continue unabashed.
Tinubu’s media aides include the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare; Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala; Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz; Senior Special Assistant on Digital/New Media, O’tega Ogra; Senior Special Assistant on Media & Public Affairs, Tope Ajayi; Senior Special Assistant on Public Engagement, Fredrick Nwabufo; Senior Special Assistant on Strategic Communications, Linda Nwabuwa Akhigbe; Senior Special Assistant on Media & Communications (Vice President’s Office), Kingsley Stanley Nkwocha and Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
In this report, we spotlight a series of false or misleading information shared by President Tinubu and his media aides two years into his four-year administration.
Tinubu misleading claim about crude oil production
Addressing Nigerians via a nationwide broadcast in the early hours of August 4, 2024 following the nationwide protests across the country, President Tinubu highlighted some of the measures taken by his administration to cushion the effects of economic hardship on the citizens.
During the address, the president claimed that Nigeria had increased crude oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day. However, findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim was FALSE.
According to the data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production stood at 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) in June 2024, based on data submitted by the Nigerian government, which is an OPEC member.
OPEC gathers data on crude oil production from direct communication from member countries and secondary communication, such as energy intelligence platforms.
This represents an increase of just 25,000 barrels daily from 1.251 million barrels bpd recorded in May 2024.
According to secondary sources, Nigeria retained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa with 1.362 million bpd in June 2024, closely trailed by Libya, which produced 1.2 million bpd for the same month.
False information about foreign investment
In the nationwide broadcast on October 1, 2024, Tinubu shared updates on the nation’s progress, economic outlook, and security measures as Nigeria marked its 64th anniversary.
During the address, the president said that Nigeria attracted foreign direct investments worth more than $30 billion in the previous year (2023). However, checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Nigeria received a total of $59.77 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the third quarter of 2023, when Tinubu became Nigeria’s president, according to official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In the fourth quarter of 2023, FDI amounted to $183.97 million, while the first quarter of 2024 saw $119.18 million in earnings. Altogether, Nigeria attracted $362.92 million in foreign direct investment over the nine months between July 2023 and March 2024. This is lower than the amount mentioned by Tinubu in the presidential broadcast.
Misleading images of ‘Secretary of State Parolin’
Ahead of the inauguration mass for Pope Leo XIV held on May 18, 2025, the Nigerian presidency shared photos of Tinubu’s visit to the Vatican via the president’s official X handle and one of his media aides, Bayo Onanuga. In the post, the Presidency said Tinubu was warmly received by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
In the photos shared, the president was seen talking with the cardinal as he posed for a picture with him. However, the person he posed for photographs with was not Parolin, as claimed in the X post.
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the person in both images was Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, President of the Commission for Confidential Matters, and President of the Committee for Investments.
Onanuga’s misleading claim about Julius Debrah
On January 6, 2025, one of Nigeria’s presidential spokespersons, Bayo Onanuga, claimed that Julius Debrah was the Chief of Staff to the immediate-past president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo.
Onanuga posted the claim on X (formerly Twitter) to announce the Nigerian president’s arrival at the inauguration ceremony held for the newly elected Ghanaian president, John Mahama, on January 7, 2025.
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim was MISLEADING, as Debrah is the current Chief of Staff to Ghanaian President, John Mahama, who was sworn-in this January.
To verify the claim, our fact-checker subjected the keyword “chief of staff to president Nana Addo Akufo” to an advanced Bing search. The results showed that Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare was the Chief of Staff to ex-president Akufo-Addo, who served from 2017- 2025.
Further findings revealed that Julius Debrah was the Chief of Staff to the President Mahama during his first tenure after he was appointed in February 2015, when Prosper Douglas Bani was removed and assigned as Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary.
Debrah was later re-appointed as Mahama’s Chief of Staff on January 6, 2025 and he received President Tinubu in that official capacity when the Nigerian president arrived Ghana ahead of the inauguration.
A misleading image to falsely portray Obi’s record
On April 29, 2025, Dada Olusegun shared two contrasting images on X to compare water transportation in Anambra State under Peter Obi’s governorship tenure (2006 – 2014), and Lagos State under the current Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
In one image, Obi was seen in a wooden canoe in a flood-ravaged area. The second image showed Sanwo-Olu aboard a modern watercraft. Olusegun captioned the post: “Water transportation in Anambra under Obi Vs Water Transportation in Lagos under Babajide Sanwo-Olu.”
A reverse image search conducted by The FactCheckHub revealed that the photo was taken in October 2022, eight years after Obi left office, during a visit to flood victims in Anambra State. At the time, Obi was a presidential candidate under the Labour Party for the 2023 general election. Presidency shares misleading video during #EndBadGovernance protest
During the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria, the Nigerian presidency shared a video of President Tinubu purportedly issuing a passionate plea to Nigerians to embrace peace and “look beyond temporary pains.” The video also appeared on Tinubu’s official X account.
However, findings by The FactCheckHub showed that the video is an extract from an old broadcast by Tinubu. A Google reverse image search conducted on some keyframes obtained from the video showed that the longer version was posted by Tinubu on July 31, 2023. The text version was also posted on Nigeria’s State House’s website same day.
Onanuga’s false claim that Nigeria budgeted 97% of revenue for debt servicing in 2023
In June 2024, a New York Times article about Nigeria’s economic situation drew a response from the Nigerian government.
The article, titled ‘Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation‘, talks about fuel subsidy removal and the floatation of Nigeria’s currency by the Tinubu-led administration and their impacts on the population.
Reacting to the report, the Nigerian presidency, through Onanuga, described the article as a “jaundiced report” and claimed that the current economic crisis was a consequence of the bad economy Tinubu inherited.
Onanuga then claimed that the 2023 Appropriation Act was inefficient as it proposed to spend 97 percent of the country’s revenues to service debt.
However, the claim was FALSE, according to findings by FIJ. In 2023, the country was projected to generate N8.46 trillion in revenue and spend N6.31 trillion servicing public debt. According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), which coordinates the management of Nigeria’s debt, this represented a debt-servicing ratio of 73.5 per cent.
Bwala’s false claims about Ndume projects, bills passed
In April 2025, Daniel Bwala claimed that Senator Ali Ndume has not had any executed projects throughout his 22-years stay in the National Assembly.
=== International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) ===
