In a video clip, a voice that sounds like Mr Akpabio says, "Times are difficult, and wherever you see free food, please endeavour to avail yourself."
A video clip that has been circulating on social media recently has put Senate President Godswill Akpabio in the spotlight for allegedly telling Nigerians to go for free food whenever they see one because of the country's economic hardship.
The eight-second clip has been circulating on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and WhatsApp.
In it, a voice that sounds like Mr Akpabio says, "Times are difficult, and wherever you see free food, please endeavour to avail yourself."
Apart from many social media users attacking Mr Akpabio because of the clip, some newspapers, like the West African Pilot, Nigerian Tribune and Peoples Gazette, published stories about it, and several blogs feasted on it.
"They know that things are seriously tough, and this is what Akpabio has to say to Nigerians," one X user, who commented on the clip, said of Mr Akpabio.
"They have turned half of the country's population to beggars, seeking free food."
Checking the video
The video suggests that Mr Akpabio made the comment during the plenary.
To fact-check the video, PREMIUM TIMES reviewed plenaries of the Senate from 13 June 2023 to January 2024.
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Findings
The Senate chamber shown in the video is the temporary chamber, which the senators had stopped using since May 2024 when they moved to the permanent chamber. The senators have had no reason to go back to the old chamber afterwards.
The voice in the clip is truly Mr Akpabio's, but not a recent comment.
The Senate president made the comment on 14 June 2023, a day after the inauguration of the 10th Assembly.
A review of the video of the plenary on 14 June 2023 showed that Mr Akpabio said, "Times are difficult, and wherever you see free food, please endeavour to avail yourself."
He was referring to a dinner organised in his honour and the deputy president of the Senate after their inauguration.
Mr Akpabio's comment was towards his colleagues, not Nigerians. The video shows the senators laughing at Mr Akpabio's comment.
Verdict
The video is misleading.
