From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has called for legal action against social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VDM, for circulating an audio clip he described as a fabricated recording attributed to President Bola Tinubu.
In a post on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, via his verified X handle @aonanuga1956, Onanuga accused VDM of abusing social media by disseminating what he called “false information capable of misleading the public and damaging the image of the President.”
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu,” Onanuga said. “This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform.”
The dispute centres on a video VDM posted in which he played an audio clip he said featured Mr Tinubu commenting on the country’s political situation, insecurity in the South-East and plans for the 2027 elections.
Introducing the clip, VDM asked viewers, “After this audio that I am about to play, I would ask if they cooked Nigerians who will support Tinubu in 2027, or you guys are okay.”
The recording, which circulated online, reportedly included statements in which a voice alleged to be the president said those trying to remove him from office “have been trying to take me out of the position, but it’s not possible,” and suggested he would not act to halt insecurity in the South-East because doing so would harm his party’s electoral prospects.
The clip also allegedly quoted the voice saying he intended to “borrow more and more money from the World Bank” and that loans were being used to “fund them”.
Onanuga dismissed the audio as manipulated and warned that the spread of unverified material “poses serious dangers to public trust, national security, and democratic stability.” He said those responsible for circulating such content should be held accountable under the law.
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