THE Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation did not allocate any funds to enlighten the public on the danger of fake news in the 2026 budget, despite receiving a total allocation of ₦98.2 billion.
This omission comes amid growing concerns about the impact of misinformation on Nigeria’s democracy and social cohesion. In 2024, FactCheckHub reported that experts in the information ecosystem criticised the ministry’s proposed ₦24.5 million allocation to tackle fake news, describing it as grossly inadequate given the scale of the problem. But since 2024, the ministry has removed that line from its budget.
Despite widespread acknowledgement of misinformation as a major national threat, especially as Nigeria approaches another pre-election period, when false narratives typically intensify, the ministry and the agency failed to prioritise the issue in the current budget cycle. The only related budget was the training for their officers on fact-checking, which attracted a budget allocation of N14 million.
In December, The ICIR reported that President Bola Tinubu presented the ₦58.47 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, promising a decisive shift toward disciplined budget execution and results-driven governance.
The budget, titled “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” is intended to consolidate recent economic reforms and translate stabilising macroeconomic indicators into improved living standards for Nigerians.
However, the absence of funding for misinformation countermeasures contrasts sharply with mounting global and local evidence of its dangers. Reports have consistently shown that misinformation and disinformation pose serious threats to democracy and social cohesion, both in Nigeria and worldwide.
For instance, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 confirmed that misinformation and disinformation remain among the world’s most severe global risks.
In the report published on January 14, 2026, false and misleading information ranked second among short-term global risks, surpassed only by geoeconomic confrontation—placing it ahead of numerous economic, environmental, and security threats.
During the 2023 general elections, misinformation surged across social media platforms.
Political actors and activists circulated doctored photos, videos, and text messages to millions of users, particularly on WhatsApp, fuelling false narratives throughout the February–March election cycle that culminated in President Tinubu’s victory and inauguration in May 2023.
A similar pattern emerged during the recently concluded Anambra election. The campaign period, election day, and aftermath were marked by waves of unverified claims, including false reports of election outcomes, violence, vote-buying, and widespread malpractice. Fact-checks by the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) later showed that many of these claims were misleading or entirely false.
Misinformation has also affected Nigeria’s international image. The FactCheckHub documented how misleading narratives followed comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians—claims that intensified public pressure on the Federal Government.
Additionally, misinformation actors, including members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have used social media platforms such as X to spread false claims about Nigeria, narratives that at one point contributed to heightened diplomatic tensions after the former U.S. president suggested possible military action.
More recently, following the signing of Nigeria’s new tax reforms in June 2025, misleading interpretations of the law have continued to circulate online.
Experts have repeatedly argued that the National Orientation Agency should play a more active role in countering such narratives, a responsibility that remains largely unaddressed in the current budget.
Speaking with The FactCheckHub, the Executive Director of Round Check, Caleb Ijioma, warned that information disorder poses a serious threat to the 2027 general elections.
“With political activities already picking up ahead of the 2027 elections, one would expect the Ministry of Information and National Orientation Agency (NOA) to be more proactive in curbing the spread of misinformation,” he said.
According to Ijioma, misinformation has increasingly become a strategic tool for manipulating voter perception during elections. “We have seen its impact in previous elections. It is getting more serious and has now become a global problem. Bad actors continue to deploy sophisticated techniques to undermine electoral processes and incite violence,” he noted.
He pointed out that in 2025, rage bait was named Oxford’s Word of the Year, reflecting how emotionally charged and misleading content is deliberately used to drive engagement online.
Similarly, the World Economic Forum’s 2025 assessment identified misinformation and disinformation as major short-term risks capable of fuelling instability and eroding trust in governance.
Ijioma said the lack of adequate funding to mitigate these risks leaves the information space wide open for malicious actors.
“It sends a signal that Nigeria is not prepared to confront misinformation as a global threat—one that has continued to negatively affect the country,” he said.
He warned that failure to prioritise misinformation could weaken national institutions across sectors, including health, politics, and the economy.
On the role of budgetary allocation, Ijioma explained that proper funding would enable the Ministry of Information and the NOA to design targeted interventions against misinformation.
“Budgetary allocations can produce dedicated projects aimed at combating misinformation and promoting Media and Information Literacy.
“It will create room for proper partnerships and collaborations with organisations whose work centres on it. You need money for projects, and budgetary allocation will help make this possible, at a time where misinformation is now a global threat to democracy and the economy,” he said.
Republished from the FactCheckHub.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.