The Presidency has refuted claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred national honours on prominent human rights activist Aisha Yesufu and 35 others, describing the reports as “fake news.”
Yesufu, widely recognised for her pivotal involvement in the 2020 End SARS protests, was listed in a document circulating on social media that named 102 supposed recipients of national honours.
The document sparked widespread debate, particularly among supporters of President Tinubu’s administration.
Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a statement via Facebook on Friday debunking the claim.
“The story on a viral list of national honours featuring the name of Aisha Yesufu and others credited to the Leadership newspaper is fake news. It should be ignored,” Ajayi stated.
He went on to provide clarification: “The Presidency has not issued fresh names for national honour different from the ones in President Tinubu’s address to the joint sitting of the National Assembly yesterday.”
The President had announced national awards on Thursday, June 13, during his address at a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja to mark the 2025 Democracy Day celebration. Only 66 recipients were officially named.
Among those honoured posthumously were Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, a former Chief of Staff; Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, the ex-NEC Chairman who supervised the 1993 elections; and Kudirat Abiola, wife of late MKO Abiola and a heroine of the June 12 democracy movement.
