FACT CHECK: Did Fani-Kayode say Buhari will change Nigeria for good?

The viral image of a quote attributed to Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation, allegedly saying President Muhammadu Buhari will change the country for good has been circulating on social media.

According to the image, Fani-Kayode, a fierce critic of Buhari, commended the president and described him as “honest, pure”.

“President Buhari is not an ordinary person. His integrity is his purity. We must appreciate and support a honest man that is determined to change Nigeria for good,” the image reads.

The image is dated August 21, the same day Yusuf, Buhari’s son, tied the knot with Zahra, the daughter of Nasir Ado Bayero, the Emir of Bichi in Kano state.

Fani-Kayode had attended the wedding ceremony in the company of Bello Matawalle and Babagana Zulum, governors of Zamfara and Borno states; Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy; Nuhu Ribadu, pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other dignitaries, a number of whom he (Fani-Kayode) has publicly attacked.

But while Fani-Kayode described some of those he had criticised as his friends, did he make the viral comment about Buhari?

VERIFYING THE CLAIM

The image suggested that the former aviation minister posted the content on his Twitter page. However, checks by TheCable showed that Fani-Kayode did not make such a remark on the quoted date. The image was photoshopped.

Rather, the former minister had discredited quotes attributed to him but unavailable publicly on his social media pages.

In a tweet on Saturday, Fani-Kayode asked Nigerians to beware of fake quotes attributed to him.

He said quotes that cannot be found on his verified social media pages are fake.

“BEWARE OF FAKE “FFK” QUOTES! Any quote from me that cannot be viewed on this page DIRECTLY or viewed on any of my other VERIFIED social media pages DIRECTLY are FAKE!” the tweet reads.

“Beware of FORWARDED social media messages with my name on it on fake screenshots of my pages/handles. ALL FAKE!”

BEWARE OF FAKE "FFK" QOUTES!

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Any quote from me that cannot be viewed on this page DIRECTLY or viewed on any of my other VERIFIED social media pages DIRECTLY are FAKE! Beware of FORWARDED social media messages with my name on it on fake screenshots of my pages/handles.ALL FAKE!

— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) August 22, 2021

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VERDICT: The quote attributed to Fani-Kayode saying Buhari is determined to change Nigeria is fake.