The office of the Senate President has dismissed a viral online video featuring Senate President Godswill Akpabio discussing free food and difficult times, labeling it a malicious distortion. The clip, originally a light-hearted exchange among the Senate President and his colleagues, was not intended for public consumption.
Jackson Udom, the Special Assistant on Media to the President of the Senate, responded to the video, which he said has caused significant embarrassment to both the Senate President and his constituents. He noted that the manipulated video has been spreading on social media, provoking widespread negative reactions.
Udom stated, “The office of the President of the Senate has noticed a malicious news item published by the highly regarded Nigerian Tribune. The headline reads: ‘WHENEVER YOU SEE FREE FOOD, ENDEAVOR TO AVAIL YOURSELF; TIMES ARE DIFFICULT.’”
He clarified that the quote attributed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio was part of a video clip from a conversation with his distinguished colleagues on the second day after Akpabio’s inauguration as the President of the 10th Senate.
“The doctored video circulated by the Tribune has been misrepresented in a way that evokes negative feedback. A closer examination of the longer version, which the Tribune intentionally omitted, shows it was taken entirely out of context.
“This clip is not recent; it dates back to June 14, 2023, just a day after his inauguration. During his closing remarks, the Senate President informed his colleagues about a dinner organized in their honor by a fellow senator and jokingly suggested they take advantage of the free food, acknowledging the hard times.”
Udom emphasized that the Senate President’s remarks were not directed at the general public, as implied by the doctored video. “Our investigation indicates that the version circulating online has been manipulated to mislead viewers, stripping the Senate President’s words of their original context.”
He further noted that in the past 24 hours, the misleading video has caused the Senate President and his constituents considerable embarrassment. Udom demanded that his response be published with equal prominence to the doctored video in order to set the record straight and reassure the President of the Senate’s numerous supporters, associates, and admirers.
