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The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said the opposition is using fake news and hate speech as campaign tools to de-market President Muhammadu Buhari, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The minister said this on Monday when he paid official visit to the Abuja office of The Authority Newspaper.
“Buhari has indicated interest to contest the 2019 presidential election under the platform of his ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The opposition has latched on to the use of fake news as a campaign tool ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“With the Buhari Administration delivering on its promises to fight corruption, build the nation’s economy and tackle insecurity, the opposition has realised it will not make any impact if it takes on the Administration on that turf.
“So, it has decided to take the easy route, which is to use fake news and hate speech to de-market the Administration, pitch Christians against MuslimS and one ethnic group against another.
“In short, it wants to plunge the country into turmoil. It is said that the easy way is not always the right way.
“The opposition knows that but it doesn’t care. It is hell bent on dividing Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines,” he said.
The minister said the opposition had been using fake news to blame all the killings in a certain part of the country on herdsmen.
He said it ignored the band of deadly militia groups that were being sponsored by unscrupulous people to kill innocent people and put the nation on edge.
The minister stressed that the clashes between the farmers and herders were being aggravated by climate change which had heightened the contest for scarce natural resources like water.
“With a population of 45 million in 1960, Nigeria is today approaching the 200-million mark.
“Yet, the resources have not expanded and have in fact been shrinking.”
