Tinubu begins two-day visit to Katsina tomorrow

The Presidency has decried worsening misinformation in the country, urging the criminalisation of fake news to sanitise the polity. 
  
Irked by the menace, the Presidency declared that fake news must be criminalised, contending that “press freedom and freedom of speech will not exist when some people can wake up and concoct their news and narratives without regard for truth.”
  
Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, took to his verified X handle, where he refuted a trending report which claimed that President Bola Tinubu dismissed the Ministers of Defence and Power.
  
The presidential spokesman urged security operatives to take urgent action to end the threat, just as he called on Nigerians to ignore the concocted report.
  
An online report, on Tuesday, claimed that the President sacked the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.
  
“It is fake news, plain and simple, sensationalist hogwash that should be treated with the contempt it deserves,” Onanuga said.
  
He advised Nigerians to depend on official government channels and trusted news outlets for accurate and verified information.

IN another development, the Katsina government, yesterday, confirmed that the President would visit the state tomorrow and stay over until Saturday. 
  
The Commissioner for Information, Home Affairs and Culture, Bala Salisu, dropped the hint while speaking with newsmen.
  
Salisu said during the two-day visit, the Nigerian leader would commission projects and undertake other engagements. 
 
 He identified two of the projects to be inaugurated including the Katsina Eastern Bypass, a highway that links Kano Road with Kaita, Daura and Dutsinma councils.
  
The second project, he said, is the Katsina State Agriculture Mechanisation Centre geared at transforming the sector. 

The commissioner said the visit would promote discussions on issues affecting the state, especially insecurity.
  
He added that the August visit would enable the state to showcase what the Governor Dikko Radda-led administration is doing for the socio-economic transformation of the state.