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The Presidency on Sunday described as fake and malicious a widely circulated statement claiming that President Bola Tinubu rejected a working visit invitation from the White House due to domestic priorities and aircraft constraints.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, debunked the viral statement via his official X (formerly Twitter) page, dismissing the claims as the handiwork of “disinformation agents, hoax peddlers, fake news propagators, and clickbaiters.”
“Whoever you are, one day, the law will catch you,” Onanuga warned in a strongly worded post, as he shared the image being circulated with a “FAKE NEWS ALERT” overlay.
The forged document, disguised as a “State House Official Statement,” claimed that the Tinubu administration had declined a White House invitation for a working visit to Washington, D.C., citing “critical domestic priorities” and “logistical constraints, including the unsustainability of presidential aircraft for long-distance travel.”
The statement was falsely attributed to Onanuga himself, bearing his name and official designation as the signatory.
However, Onanuga distanced himself from the statement entirely, emphasizing that neither the White House nor the Nigerian Presidency had issued or acknowledged such communication.
The fake release stated that “the Nigerian government remains committed to fostering strong bilateral relations with the United States and looks forward to future opportunities for collaboration.”
