FACT-CHECK: Did Rivers Governor, Fubara Shutdown NNPCL, Oil Companies as Facebook Users Claim?
By: Quadri Yahya
Claim: Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara has shut down (stations by) the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other oil companies in the state.
Verdict: False.
Full Text:
Multiple posts on Facebook claimed that Rivers State Governor, Fubara has shut down NNPCL (stations) and other oil companies in the state.
The viral claim preceded an Abuja court judgment barring the Federal Government/Central Bank of Nigeria from releasing further monthly allocations to Rivers State.
A faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly members had petitioned the state government on the ground that Governor Fubara had yet to comply with the court order that directed him to represent the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Martins Amaewhule-led faction.
Tracking the claim on social media, FactCheck Africa discovered that multiple pages and accounts are disseminating posts containing the claim with a seemingly coordinated strategy.
The posts have garnered at least over a thousand engagements with more than 100 people sharing with others.
Verification:
FactCheckAfrica keyword search reveals that no credible media outlet reported that the state government shut down NNPCL and other oil companies.
The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, has also dismissed the claim.
According to the statement obtained by FactCheckAfrica, the claim “was not only false, but concocted propaganda from the imagination of the author and enemies of the State. The story was also circulated by an inconsequential and unverified medium.”
Johnson further said: “Governor Siminalayi Fubara is committed to the rule of law and does not rely on unconventional and crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.
“We therefore enjoin Rivers people and well-meaning Nigerians to discountenance the spurious and fake report as Governor Fubara at no time contemplated and/or directed such needless order of shutting down the economy for any reason.”
Conclusion:
The claim making the rounds on social media that Rivers State Governor, Fubara has shut down NNPCL and all oil companies in the state is FALSE.
