Presidency Debunks Viral Report on Aisha Yesufu’s Alleged National Honour

The Nigerian Presidency has refuted claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred a national honour on well-known activist, Aisha Yesufu.

Temitope Ajayi, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, issued the clarification on Friday following confusion stirred by a viral list.

The controversy began after President Tinubu awarded national honours to various individuals, including human rights advocate and former senator Shehu Sani, during his Democracy Day address on Thursday.

However, confusion erupted when a list circulating online included the name “Aisha Yesufu,” prompting reactions on social media. One user even accused Yesufu of benefiting from her supposed support for the All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming Tinubu rewarded her where former President Buhari did not.

Aisha Yesufu, a vocal critic of the current administration and ardent supporter of Labour Party’s Peter Obi, quickly denied any association with the list, firmly responding, “God forbid! It can never be this Aisha Yesufu. Thank you.”

Yesufu has consistently rejected Tinubu’s presidency, asserting that the 2023 election was rigged in his favour and that her preferred candidate, Peter Obi, was the rightful winner.

To clear up the confusion, Ajayi posted via X (formerly Twitter), stating that the report, which was linked to the Leadership newspaper, was entirely false. He emphasized that President Tinubu only recognized individuals already listed in his Democracy Day speech and did not approve any additional awardees beyond that official list.

Ajayi described the viral honour list as “fake news” and urged the public to disregard it entirely.