The Presidency has accused Daily Trust of spreading false reports against President Tinubu, dismissing claims of Lagos dominating the 2025 budget and clarifying that the Northwest received the largest allocation with ₦5.9 trillion.
The Presidency has strongly criticized Daily Trust newspaper, accusing it of repeatedly publishing misleading reports and deliberately attempting to tarnish the image of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in a series of posts, said the publication has become a habitual source of misinformation that fuels division, promotes falsehood, and prioritizes sectional narratives over the national interest.
Onanuga noted that Daily Trust has consistently published reports that distort facts to suit what he described as a parochial agenda.
According to him, the newspaper is quick to inflame religious and regional sentiments through sensational coverage.
He recalled how the paper had to retract and apologise over its misleading report on the Samoa Agreement, stressing that the outlet continues to operate in a manner contrary to journalistic ethics.
“This paper thrives on falsehood. It tries to pitch one part of the country against another, while projecting public policies only through the lens of region and not the national good,” Onanuga stated.
He added that even after the Presidency debunked claims of alleged lopsided allocation of federal projects, Daily Trust revived the falsehood, presenting it as so-called “investigative journalism.”
“Its motive is clear—repeat the lie, paint Tinubu black, and make the lie stick. But facts are stubborn. They will always outlast deliberate misinformation,” he said.
In a follow-up clarification, Onanuga cited figures released by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, showing that the Northwest region, and not Lagos, is the biggest beneficiary of President Tinubu’s 2025 budget.
The Northwest received an allocation of ₦5.9 trillion, representing 40 percent of the total budget. Other regions’ allocations were broken down as follows:
South-South: ₦2.41 trillion
North Central: ₦1.13 trillion
South East: ₦407 billion
North East: ₦400 billion
South West (excluding Lagos): ₦604 billion
Yakubu explained that the figures clearly contradict the viral infographic published by an Abuja-based paper, which exaggerated Lagos’ share while minimizing the North’s gains.
Yakubu argued that President Tinubu’s focus on the Northwest is both deliberate and justified. He noted that the region played a decisive role in securing Tinubu’s election victory in 2023.
“Without the votes of the Northwest, there would have been no Tinubu presidency. The President understands this and has not been ungrateful,” he wrote.
He listed several priority projects in the region, including:
The Kaduna Power Plant (255MW), originally conceived under late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua but now revived under Tinubu.
The Kaduna–Kano expressway
The Kano–Maiduguri highway
The Sokoto–Illela corridor
According to Yakubu, these projects represent “gratitude made concrete, kilometre by kilometre, megawatt by megawatt.”
The Budget Office DG further clarified that claims of Lagos “swallowing” the budget are grossly misleading.
He said the viral chart wrongly classified federal highways, coastal corridors, and national transport links as Lagos-exclusive projects.
“By that logic, the Kano–Maiduguri expressway would be called a ‘Maiduguri-only project.’ These are national arteries, not local trophies,” Yakubu explained.
When properly disaggregated, Lagos’ actual exclusive projects—including airport fencing, Carter Bridge rehabilitation, and localized infrastructure upgrades—amount to about ₦1.2 trillion, not the ₦2.7 trillion being circulated.
“Lagos is not swallowing the budget,” Yakubu stressed. “What is happening is the stitching together of Nigeria through critical infrastructure.”
Onanuga concluded by urging Nigerians to treat Daily Trust with caution, arguing that the paper’s persistent misrepresentation of facts undermines unity and trust.
“Nigerians deserve journalism built on integrity, not propaganda that trades in falsehood. A newspaper that abandons fairness and truth is unworthy of its name,” he said.