Abdul Rasheeth, the Special Advisor on Media (Broadcast) to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the federal government is enlisting and compensating social media influencers to advocate for the Samoa Agreement.
Rasheeth claimed to have received multiple calls from influential figures who informed him that President Bola Tinubu’s Northern assistant was “distributing money and recruiting many people” to garner support for the Samoa Agreement.
According to Rasheeth, these influencers were paid to endorse the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community, which he claimed was one of the conditions tied to a $150 billion loan agreement that the federal government had signed.
Tinubu Government Threatens Legal Action Over Alleged Samoa Agreement Misinformation
On his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday, Rasheeth wrote, “I received numerous phone calls from several influencers about a Northern Tinubu Media Aide who was widely distributing money and recruiting many people to defend the LGBTQ deal.”
Earlier, the federal government, represented by Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu, denied assertions that the loan agreement required Nigeria to grant the LGBTQ community freedom to express their sexual orientation.
In a statement released on Saturday, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris refuted the allegations about the Samoa Agreement, particularly the claims related to the LGBTQ provision, as unfounded.
Mohammed Idris stated that reports on the Samoa deal were based on hearsay and misinformation. He emphasized that the government had no such agreement or condition involving the LGBTQ community in its financial dealings.
