By Uche Amunike
Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has denied being the author of a post which claimed, Tuesday, that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had extended the validity period for the old N1000 and N500 notes till May 1, 2023, on her official Instagram and Facebook accounts, saying that her social media accounts had since been hacked.
In reaction to the post, Aisha Buhari denied posting the press release, reiterating that her account was hacked and the fake post was sent to smear her image by the same people responsible for deleting many of her social media posts previously.
When she came across the offending post, she gave directives that it is deleted and asked security and intelligent operatives to investigate the matter, fish out the culprits and bring them to book.
She posted: ‘It has come to my attention that a certain fake news was posted on my social media handle, Instagram, which also directly connects to my Facebook page, earlier this morning. I have since directed that it should be deleted.’
‘This is without a doubt the criminal actions of the person(s) who were responsible for deleting quite a number of my posts since 2018 to late last year when I posted a video and picture of my hands with henna design of ABAT insignia on the day I launched the APC Women Presidential Campaign Committee for Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Ilorin, Kwara State, my post on the event for the Traditional and Complementary Alternative Medicine (TCAM) conference and 17 other posts.’
She further stated: ‘This person is a hacker, criminally minded with the intention to continue attacking my reputation through my social media platforms.’
‘But I am assuring you that this is the first and last I am disclaiming fake news on my handle. It is the responsibility of the security agencies to find out who am I sharing my social media handles with, despite being verified accounts, and take all necessary actions.’
The fake press release in question read thus: ‘Due to the current and unpleasant situation happening in Nigeria, In line with Mr. President. After having a closed meeting with him on the 20th of February, 2023, Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) has been directed to ONLY reissue and recirculate the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 70 days up to May 1, 2023. Members of the public should therefore continue to spend the old notes.’
Barely one hour after it was pasted on Aisha Buhari’s verified social media page, it got over 2000 likes and over 1000 comments from Facebook users.
Recall that Aisha Buhari has been keeping a low profile since she reportedly ordered that a Nigerian student be arrested in the presidential villa, last year. During the campaigns, she mobilized support for the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, through her social media handles and has opposed the new Naira policy that has brought immeasurable pain to Nigerians, nationwide.
