Senate President’s office debunks viral video

The office of the Senate President has denied a viral online video depicting Senate President Godswill Akpabio talking about free food and hard times as a malicious news item from a doctored video which was from a joke between the Senate President and his colleagues and not aimed at the public

The Special Assistant on Media to the President of the Senate, Jackson Udom, in his reaction to the video which he said has generated serious embarrassment to the Senate President and his constituents, added that the doctored video has been circulating on social media and generating widespread negative reactions.

In his reaction, Udom stated that “the attention of the office of the President of the Senate, has been drawn to a malicious news item, published by the online platform of the highly revered and respected Nigerian Tribune newspapers to wit: “WHENEVER YOU SEE FREE FOOD ENDEAVOR TO AVAIL YOURSELF TIMES ARE DIFFICULT”

He added that the quote attributed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was a video clip of Nigeria’s Senate President discussing with his fellow distinguished colleagues on the second day after Akpabio’s inauguration as the President of the 10th Senate.

“The doctored video clip as published by the Tribune online has been circulating on social media, generating widespread negative reactions. However, a closer look at a longer version of the video, which the Tribune online deliberately refused to publish reveals that it was completely taken out of context.

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“The truth is that this video in question is not recent but dates back to June 14, 2023, a day after his inauguration as the President of the Senate when in his closing remarks informed his colleagues of a dinner organized in their honour and by a senator colleague and he jokingly told them to avail themselves of the free food as times are hard

“The President of the Senate’s comments was not aimed at the general public as the doctored video circulated by Tribune online makes it look. From our findings that version of the video was doctored and manipulated to mislead viewers, taking the Senate President’s words out of their original context,” he said

Udom further stated that the said video had in the last 24 hours caused the President of the Senate and his constituents serious embarrassment, demanding that his “rejoinder be published and given same prominence that the doctored video was given, to put the record straight and assuage the minds of the teeming supporters, associates and admirers of the President of the Senate.”

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