Back to Africa Check

Nigerian government disowns widely shared ‘inauguration programme’ for new president’s swearing-in

IN SHORT: A programme of activities for the swearing-in of Nigerian president-elect Bola Tinubu has been circulating on social media. Disregard it, officials say.

Posts claiming to show the activities planned for the inauguration of Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Tinubu have been shared online.

Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the February 2023 presidential election, will be sworn in on 29 May. However, his rivals are challenging his victory in court.

A post shared on Facebook in May 2023 claims to list the day's programme.

Under the headline “INAUGURATION PROGRAMS” the post says that the occasion will begin with a farewell “exco meeting” on 18 May, followed by a series of events, including a pre-inauguration and end-of-term thanksgiving.

The event will apparently end on 5 June with an “assembly proclamation”.

This schedule has also been posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

But is this official?

NigeriaGovernment_False

Inauguration programme only to be unveiled on 18 May

On 6 May, the federal government said the programme on social media was fake, in a statement signed by Willie Bassey, a government spokesperson, and reported on by national media.

It said that “various approved events for the inauguration would be held from the week commencing on 22 May”. An approved programme of events would be unveiled on “18 May”.

Do not make any plans based on what is being shared online.

Republish our content for free

Please complete this form to receive the HTML sharing code.

For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false

A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?

Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.

Publishers guide

Africa Check teams up with Facebook

Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.

The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.

You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
limit: 600 characters

Want to keep reading our fact-checks?

We will never charge you for verified, reliable information. Help us keep it that way by supporting our work.

Become a newsletter subscriber

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.