The Presidency on Saturday dismissed claim that President Bola Tinubu awarded national honours to activist Aisha Yesufu and 35 others.
A list making the rounds on social media claimed President Tinubu awarded 102 individuals with national honours, including Yesufu.
According to the Presidency, Tinubu only awarded 66 individuals at the joint sitting of the National Assembly on June 12, and has not released new names.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, who made the clarification in a statement via Facebook on Saturday, described the report as “fake news”.
The statent read, “The story on a viral list of national honours featuring the name of Aisha Yesufu and others credited to the Leadership newspaper is fake news. It should be ignored.
“The Presidency has not issued fresh names for national honour different from the ones in President Tinubu’s address to the joint sitting of the National Assembly on Democracy Day.”
The emergence of list with Yesufu’s name sparked debate on social media due to the fact that she is a well-known critic of the Tinubu-led administration and even campaigned against him during the election.
To mark this year’s Democracy Day celebration, Tinubu honoured Nigerians who have made significant impacts on the country’s democracy.
The President honoured the likes of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Kudirat Abiola, and Humphrey Nwosu with a posthumous award.
