Social media platforms, particularly WhatsApp, have been buzzing with a viral message claiming that the one month old administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finalized the “Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021.” The heading of the message reads “STATE OF THE NATION………. NIGERIA RESTRUCTURING BILL CONCLUDED READY FOR RATIFICATION:”
The broadcast message ended with “A NEW NIGERIA IS POSSIBLE…… Tinubu is working”
The call for restructuring of the Nigerian federation to address pertinent political and economic issues has gained traction in recent times. Partly because President Bola Tinubu’s supported the call for restructuring long before he contested to become the president of Nigeria, there are voices, which believe he should now champion the cause using his presidential powers. There are expectations that since he has become the Nigerian leader, it is time to restructure the country.
Claim: The Nigeria Restructuring Bill ready for ratification?
Verification:
The CDD War Room found that the broadcast message first went viral in March 3, 2021. Two years later, a similar version of the supposed restructuring bill began to circulate across various social groups. We traced the origin of the supposed restructuring bill to a blog site titled “Ayo Akinfe Online Bookshop.”
A further search by the CDD War Room revealed that Ayo Akinfe, the author of the proposed bill, tweeted the link to the published version on his Twitter page. In the comment section, he clarified that it is not the bill before the National Assembly. Rather, it is a proposal from him on how Nigeria’s federation could be reworked to make it functional and efficient.
Verdict: FALSE
The widely circulated broadcast claiming the Nigeria Restructuring Bill will soon be tabled before the National Assembly is false. The broadcast message only contains a proposal by Ayo Akinfe as there is no bill before the National Assembly titled “Nigeria Restructuring Bill 2021” and all geo-political arrangements contained in the supposed bill are currently not being considered by Nigeria’s bi-cameral legislature.