The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has decried the deluge of fake news “distracting” the Federal Government in the fight against COVID-19 across the country.
Speaking during a briefing on Monday by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mohammed lamented that there are people who keep distracting the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in curtailing coronavirus.
Citing an instance, the minister said: “The latest of this is the claim that I said there is no hunger in the land and that the Federal Government has made available N100billion to Nigerians. It is fake. There is no time I said it or anybody in the Task Force said so.”
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Although the minister didn’t reel out names, he regretted that those spreading fake news have not relented.
“Those who are bent on distracting the Federal Government through fake news from its focused fight against COVID-19 have not relented.
“They also carry a piece of fake news that members of the Task Force have agreed on the sharing formula of the money that is coming into the Task Force. Once again, it is false. These people are bent on distracting the government from it’s focused fight against COVID-19,” he said.
According to him, the main essence why the Federal Government keeps holding the daily press conference is to keep Nigerians abreast of latest update relating to the virus in the country.
He advised citizens to be wary of fake news, stressing that any news that didn’t come from any member of the Task Force or the ministers should be disregarded.
“One of the main reasons why we have this daily press conference is to give you an update on the COVID-19. Any other news not emanating from the ministers or this press conference relating to COVID-19 cannot be attributed to us.
“The Centre for Disease Control has a website and you can at every hour of the day get an update on COVID-19.
“Some websites are notorious for this fake news and one of them is reporterspressng.com. I will advise Nigerians that if you want any information on COVID-19, don’t go to reporterspressng.com,” he said.
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