Onanuga accuses Daily Trust of stoking regional division against Tinubu

By Kunle Sanni –

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has accused Daily Trust newspaper of attempting to pit northern Nigerians against President Bola Tinubu through what he described as a false narrative of lopsided project allocation.

The newspaper, in its report, claimed that Lagos State received major project approvals totaling ₦3.9 trillion from the Federal Executive Council, exceeding the ₦3.56 trillion approved for 18 states in the Southeast, Northwest, and Northeast over the past two years of President Tinubu’s administration.

The report generated mixed reactions, with some accusing the government of bias for allegedly allocating a disproportionate share of federal projects to Lagos while neglecting other regions.

In his reaction via a post on X, Onanuga said the allegations of unequal distribution of federal projects had already been debunked, yet the newspaper “resurrected the falsehood, dressing it up as investigative journalism.”

“Daily Trust consistently distorts facts to serve a parochial agenda,” Onanuga wrote. “It inflames religious passions with false narratives, as seen in its sensational coverage of the Samoa Agreement, for which it later apologised. Now, it seeks to pit one region against another, and specifically to turn the people of a particular region against President Tinubu.”

Onanuga alleged that the newspaper views public policy “primarily through the lens of region rather than the broader national interest,” accusing it of recycling discredited claims about infrastructure spending.

“The baseless issue of alleged lopsided allocation of projects has been debunked. But this paper repeats the lie, paints Tinubu black, and hopes to make the lie stick. Facts are stubborn; they will always triumph over falsehood,” he said.

The presidential aide urged Nigerians to be wary of what he described as “a source unworthy of public trust,” arguing that the paper undermines national unity by prioritising sectional narratives.

“Nigerians deserve reliable journalism, not a newspaper that sacrifices integrity for a narrow agenda,” Onanuga added.