Famous Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh has posted a screenshot of a tweet by the Daily Trust newspaper on his Instagram account that reads: “The Federal Government expended about N523.3 million on school feeding programme during the lockdown against the coronavirus pandemic.”
The tweet shows a photo of Sadiya Farouq, Nigeria’s minister of humanitarian affairs.
But Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, commented: “I doubt if she really said this. I doubt.” This led to a debate about the veracity of the newspaper’s report.
Did the minister really say that?
We traced the story to a press release by Halima Oyelade, the minister’s special assistant on strategic communication, which was tweeted on the ministry’s Twitter account and reported by several newspapers, including Daily Trust.
The 3 August 2020 press release was meant to refute rumours that the ministry had spent just N13 billion on its school feeding programme.
The press release explained that the programme was modified to feed school children at home, and from 14 May to 6 July, 124,589 households were given tokens worth N4,200 each, with a total value of N523 million. – Allwell Okpi
The tweet shows a photo of Sadiya Farouq, Nigeria’s minister of humanitarian affairs.
But Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia, commented: “I doubt if she really said this. I doubt.” This led to a debate about the veracity of the newspaper’s report.
Did the minister really say that?
Widely reported press release
We traced the story to a press release by Halima Oyelade, the minister’s special assistant on strategic communication, which was tweeted on the ministry’s Twitter account and reported by several newspapers, including Daily Trust.
The 3 August 2020 press release was meant to refute rumours that the ministry had spent just N13 billion on its school feeding programme.
We did not spend N13bn on school feeding programme - @Sadiya_farouqhttps://t.co/uUuO9J3Mk7
— Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs (@FMHDSD) August 4, 2020
The press release explained that the programme was modified to feed school children at home, and from 14 May to 6 July, 124,589 households were given tokens worth N4,200 each, with a total value of N523 million. – Allwell Okpi
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