Dare Babalola
Kenny Okolugbo, the Communications and Strategy Consultant to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has firmly dismissed recent speculation on social media regarding the Senate President’s health, describing the reports as unfounded and untrue.
In a Thursday interview on Channels Television, Okolugbo said the Senate President is healthy and actively attending to his official duties.
“The Senate President is very healthy. You saw him; he’s been attending sessions, and that answers the question,” he said.
Okolugbo pointed to similar unfounded rumours about Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who was once falsely reported to be incapacitated, only to appear the next day commissioning projects and joining live TV programmes.
“Even Minister Wike was affected by similar rumours. One day they said he was in a coma or had suffered a stroke, and the next day he was commissioning projects and appeared on a live programme,” he added.
The aide urged for tighter controls on social media, emphasising the need to rein in the rampant spread of false information.
“We must regulate social media. Everybody’s a publisher online, but they don’t seem to understand that the law prohibits sharing information you are not sure of,” Okolugbo warned.
A media organisation claimed on Monday that the Senate President had collapsed and was flown on a private jet to London for treatment.
The online news platform alleged that this situation kept Akpabio away from official duties, including the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper interactive session held on Wednesday.
