TheCable

The Nasarawa government says it will partner with Bruit Costaud (BC), a firm led by Lai Mohammed, former information and culture, to tackle fake news and hate speech in the state.

Abdullahi Sule, governor of Nasarawa, who hosted Mohammed at the government house in Lafia on Tuesday, said the former minister is experienced in tackling the menace of fake news and hate speech.

Sule said Nasarawa could benefit from a number of services rendered by BC.

“You mentioned an area where you had gone through a lot of challenges,” he said.

“Maybe you will take us out of it – fake news. Fake news is very common especially here in Nasarawa where someone reported that N40 million was stolen from the bedroom of the governor.

“I didn’t report that, I didn’t know how that happened. I don’t have N40 million in my bedroom. Unfortunately, some people took it seriously.”

Earlier, the former minister said his firm could organise workshops where it could train information officers in the state on ways to counter fake news and hate speech.

“To achieve this, we invite you to explore our specifically tailored services in the following areas; facilitation of capacity building for information officers on strategic communications, social media engagement and countering fake news and hate speech,” Mohammed said.

“Facilitation of capacity building for public officials: conduct training sessions for public officials on effective communication strategies, media relations, public speaking, and international engagement protocols.

“Conduct special sessions with public officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders, security chiefs, civil society.

“We believe that collaboration between our firm and the government of Nasarawa state can yield significant benefits for the people of the state.”