The presidency has denied a social media report claiming that President Bola Tinubu is planning to rename Nigeria and abolish Sharia law in northern part of the county.
The report, which first surfaced on social media in 2025, claimed that Tinubu is seeking a constitutional amendment to rename the country to “United States of Nigeria”.
In a statement on Thursday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, alleged that the report was designed by desperate politicians to “create disaffection” in the country ahead of 2027 elections.
Onanuga said Tinubu has no plan to send a bill to the national assembly before December 15 for the renaming of the country.
“The story, which cited anonymous sources, is part of the dubious plot by some desperate politicians to create disaffection in our country, stir up a political crisis, and heat the polity ahead of the general elections,” the statement reads.
“Nigerians should ignore the viral story in its entirety because the purveyors of the fake news are agents of destabilisation and merchants of disorder.
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“President Tinubu has no plan whatsoever to send any bill code-named Project True Federation to the National Assembly by December 15, a few weeks before the general election.
“Under our laws, constitutional changes and amendments are serious business that require legislative scrutiny, oversight and serious debate. The process of amending the constitution is not at the President’s or the National Assembly’s whim.
“It is a task that requires a 2/3 majority in both chambers of the National Assembly and the concurrence of 24 State Houses of Assembly.
“President Tinubu is focused on the arduous task of entrenching and deepening the economic reforms his administration has embarked upon. He is focused on delivering more tangible dividends to Nigerians. “Nigerians should be wary of consuming fake and divisive reports, which will proliferate as the nation begins political campaigns, a prelude to the general elections in January 2026.”
