FACT-CHECK: No Evidence Tinubu Promised One Bag of Rice Weekly to Every Nigerian

By: Peter Emmanuel |

CLAIM

A viral newspaper-style graphic claims that Bola Tinubu promised to give every Nigerian one bag of rice every week when he becomes President.

The graphic was shared on Facebook by Keleyours and had attracted four likes and two comments as of the time of this report.

FULL TEXT

The graphic, branded “Daily News,” features a photograph of Bola Tinubu with the headline: “I will give every Nigerian one bag of rice weekly when I become President.”

VERIFICATION

DNN FactCheck searched for evidence that Bola Tinubu made the statement contained in the viral graphic.

No credible news report, official statement, campaign document, speech or interview was found in which Tinubu promised to give every Nigerian one bag of rice every week.

The graphic also provides no details about when or where the alleged statement was made. It does not identify an event, speech, interview or campaign programme where the promise was supposedly announced.

DNN FactCheck also found inconsistencies in the wording of the claim. The statement says, “when I become President,” despite Tinubu having assumed office as Nigeria’s president on May 29, 2023. The wording therefore does not fit the current political context in which Tinubu is already in office.

The newspaper-style design also does not, on its own, establish that the statement was published by a legitimate news organisation. The name “Daily News” displayed on the graphic could not be independently verified as the source of the alleged statement.

A search of available official and credible media records also produced no evidence supporting the claim.

VERDICT

FALSE

WHAT WE FOUND

DNN FactCheck found no credible evidence that Bola Tinubu promised to give every Nigerian one bag of rice every week.

The viral graphic does not provide a verifiable source, date, venue or original report for the alleged statement. Its wording also raises doubts because it presents Tinubu as someone who would become President, even though he has been in office since May 2023.

The claim is therefore unsupported and the graphic should not be treated as an authentic report of a statement made by Tinubu.

CONCLUSION

The claim that Bola Tinubu promised to give every Nigerian one bag of rice weekly is false. DNN FactCheck found no credible record showing that he made such a promise, while the viral graphic contains contextual and sourcing inconsistencies that further undermine its authenticity.

VERDICT: FALSE

DNN FactCheck advises social media users to verify the source of newspaper-style graphics before sharing them as genuine news.

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