Bayo Onanuga, a media aide of President-elect Bola Tinubu, has attacked UberFacts, a Twitter page that provides people with random facts, after it published court records of Tinubu’s 1993 forfeiture of $460,000 to the United States government.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Onanuga said that Nigerians were conferring a “badge of authority” on a “junk site”.
UberFacts, which has over 13 million Twitter followers, shared snippets of the Tinubu’s court documents on Monday with the caption: “In 1993, Bola Ahmed Tinubu surrendered $460,000 to the US government after a Chicago court found the income came from heroin trafficking”.
The tweet has been retweeted nearly 40,000 times and liked 53,000 times, while also generating over 5,000 comments, mainly from Nigerians.
In 1993, Bola Ahmed Tinubu surrendered $460,000 to the US government after a Chicago court found the income came from heroin trafficking pic.twitter.com/aRzrTXJtl4
— UberFacts (@UberFacts) April 9, 2023
In a follow-up tweet, the page’s handler denied being paid to put up the post, in apparent reaction to comments insinuating that UberFacts was bribed by the opposition in Nigeria to make the tweet.
And no I wasn’t paid to post that, in cash, kernel or otherwise
— UberFacts (@UberFacts) April 10, 2023
Reacting to the controversy generated by UberFacts’ tweets, Onanuga said, “I am surprised that some Nigerians are excited about @UberFacts, a Twitter account, notorious for random tweeting of falsehood and ” the most unimportant things you’ll never need to know”.
“Only in Nigeria will the junk site be stamped with some semblance of authenticity or conferred with a badge of authority, when many of its facts had long been dismissed as unreliable. Some years ago, Buzzfeed gave this damning verdict: “The Truth About UberFacts: They’re Often Wrong”.
I am surprised that some Nigerians are excited about @UberFacts, a Twitter account, notorious for random tweeting of falsehood and " the most unimportant things you'll never need to know". Only in Nigeria will the junk site be stamped with some semblance of authenticity or…
— Bayo onanuga (@aonanuga1956) April 11, 2023
Tinubu’s camp has offered shifting explanations for the $460,000 forfeiture since the matter became public knowledge.
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