The Presidency has urged Nigerians to shun a national daily newspaper, Daily Trust, having accused it taking pleasure in sensationalising reports on the Presidents Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration with malicious fictions just to paint the government in bad light.
Via a post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, on Sunday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Daily Trust newspaper is “a source not to be trusted,” accusing the northern-based publication of consistently distorting facts and promoting divisive narratives against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Onanuga alleged that the paper thrives on sensationalism and deliberately pits sections of the country against each other.
He described the platform as unworthy of the name it bears, insisting that it has repeatedly sacrificed journalistic integrity to pursue narrow and parochial interests.
“I can now confirm that the Nigerian newspaper, Daily Trust, operates as the antithesis of its name. While it demands public trust, going by its name, it consistently and unabashedly distorts facts to serve a narrow agenda. It inflames religious passions with false narratives, as seen in its sensationalist coverage of the Samoa agreement, for which it had to apologise,” he wrote.
Onanuga further faulted the newspaper for recycling debunked allegations of lopsided allocation of federal projects, describing the move as a deliberate ploy to “repeat the lie, paint Tinubu black, and make the lie stick.”
He stressed that such reports cannot erase the truth, adding that “facts are stubborn. Because they are the truth, they will always triumph over falsehood and the malicious fiction often served by this paper.”
He warned that the paper’s editorial posture is dangerous for national unity, as it views government policies through a narrow regional lens rather than a broader national interest.
Calling on citizens to reject what he termed unprofessional and manipulative reporting, Onanuga said: “Nigerians must see this paper for what it is: a source not to be trusted, unworthy of the title it bears, a newspaper that should be consigned to the dustbin when it arrives at the breakfast table. Nigerians deserve reliable journalism, not a source that so blatantly sacrifices integrity for a narrow agenda.”
