The Claim
Claims emerged on several social media platforms on Wednesday morning that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed the minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo as the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State.
The Bluenews Print Newspaper first published the news on Tuesday.
The Background
According to the claim, the president picked Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the governor of Ondo State and instructed the minister to ensure the governor emerged as the preferred candidate for the November 16 governorship election in the State.
Governor Aiyedatiwa and more than fifteen other aspirants have obtained the party’s nomination forms and are currently campaigning to clinch the APC ticket for the Ondo governorship election.
The Verification
The minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has debunked the report that President Bola Tinubu has appointed him as the leader of the party in Ondo State.
Babatunde Alao, the special adviser on media and publicity to the minister issued a statement on Wednesday in Abuja stating that the claim was false and misinformation.
Alao, who was reacting to the social media publication by Blueprint Newspaper titled “Tinubu appoints Tunji-Ojo political leader in Ondo State, described the report as baseless and fictitious.
“Therefore, Tunji-Ojo completely disassociates and distances himself from the purported appointment as it holds no truth whatsoever,” he said.
The media aide added that there was no meeting held in Abuja between the minister and APC chairmen and leaders from the 18 local government areas of Ondo state, as alleged in the article.
“The minister is aware that the party’s governorship primary election is days away, and he has advised aspirants to embrace the spirit of love and sportsmanship,” Alao said.
He further stated that the president, as the father of the nation and as the leader of the party is a democrat whose interest is always to promote unity and peace.
“Therefore, he would not want to involve himself in any action that would undermine that,” he said.
The minister’s special adviser urged the public to disregard the misinformation in the viral news article and always rely on credible sources for accurate information.
The Verdict
The claim of the appointment of the Tunji-Ojo as the leader of APC in Ondo State is COMPLETELY FALSE!
