COVID-19 LOCKDOWN: FG DENIED NOV RESUMPTION OF SCHOOLS AS CONTAINED IN A PRESS STATEMENT GOING VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Federal Government has disowned a social media post, which stated that primary and secondary schools nationwide would be resuming by November 2020 as a result of the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

The government also declared a manhunt for the author of the fake press release, which was circulating on the social media on Wednesday.

In a statement in Abuja, the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Ben Goong, urged Nigerians to disregard the fake notice, saying that the author was believed to be mentally unstable.

Goong explained that the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, could not have signed a press release where the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Sonny Echono, granted an interview to a reporter from an online medium, as stated in the fake release.

The ministry’s spokesman reiterated the release calling for schools to resume by November 2020 as a result of the pandemic spread was fake and should be disregarded.

It reads: “The Federal Ministry of Education has disowned a press release circulating on multiple social media platforms insinuating that schools will reopen in November 2020, describing the release as the handiwork of an illiterate, who, going by the content of his release also appears to be mental.

“The ministry is asking parents, students and the general public to disregard the release in its entirety, adding that there is no iota of truth about the release. Efforts are on to track the author, and he or she will be prosecuted.

“We could have ignored the release but for the massive calls from our education correspondents, parents and other stakeholders expressing concerns.”