By: Oluwaseye Ogunsanya
Claim
The Food and Agriculture Organisation, an arm of the United Nations, in Nigeria is recruiting workers.
Verdict
False. FactCheckAfrica’s findings can confirm that the vacancy positions do not originate from or represent anything from the FOA Nigeria.
Full Text
As Nigeria’s unemployment rate surged to a low ebb, an advertisement for vacant positions is currently in wide circulation online, claiming that the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Nigeria is recruiting.
The FOA is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to combat hunger with a goal to achieve food security for all. It works in over 130 countries including Nigeria.
The notice of vacancy was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by a SM user identified as Wale S. Akorede, and it was also seen on Nairaland Forum here. It stated that the FAO is purportedly recruiting 1,779 ‘suitable candidates’ to fill up some unoccupied roles across the 36 states of the country.
The vacant positions and number of vacancies were subsequently listed. This was followed by the application procedure which asked qualified and interested individuals to forward their “application documents consisting of well detailed CV and cover letter to [email protected] not later than 24th May, 2024”
FactCheckAfrica initiated this verification process due to its potential to misinform the public.
Verification
To begin with, FactCheckAfrica checked the verified page of FAO Nigeria on X to ascertain the validity of the claim. We came across a disclaimer describing the purported advertisement as false. According to the post, FAO has a standard platform where vacancies are advertised.
Corroborating this, we observed that the interested applicants are informed to send their applications to a personal — not an official — email address. This irregularity speaks volumes to the fact it might be used by some individuals who have a mission of collecting their victims’ data for a fraud scheme.
Conclusion
As the notice has been debunked by the concerned organisation and our findings corroborate, the advertisement is false and hence, the public should desist from it.
