From: Magnus Eze, Abuja
The Federal Government has said there would not be roadblocks in and out of Anambra State, before and during the November 18 governorship election in the state.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this, on Monday, at the opening session of a workshop organised, in Abuja, by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum secretariat for media handlers of state chief executives.
The minister noted that they were working at a very critical period in the nation’s history; with tight budget occasioned by economic crunch and the burgeoning trend of fake news.
Mohammed said, “In recent days, you have all seen the dangers posed, not just to you but even the general public, by those who have chosen to deploy disinformation and fake news as a weapon of choice.
“First, they created unnecessary panic in the society by claiming that Monkey Pox resulted from the Federal Government’s deliberate injection of people with the virus in certain states.
“We had hardly dispelled that when they claimed that the military, which is going beyond the call of duty to support the civilian populace, has been injecting school children with Monkey Pox, forcing many parents across a number of states to withdraw their children from school for days. Imagine the implication of this on the affected children’s education and health.
“Now, the disinformation is that ahead of the forthcoming election in Anambra, the government has been providing IPOB uniform to some people to cause mayhem, so they can in turn blame IPOB, and that many roads leading to Anambra will be closed before and after the elections, hence they advised Anambra residents to stay at home and not come out for the election.
“This is all disinformation, pure and simple. There is no such plan.”

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