Tinubu Didn’t Give Aisha Yesufu National Award — Presidency Clears Air On Fake List

The Nigerian Presidency has dismissed a widely circulated list on social media that falsely names prominent activist Aisha Yesufu and 35 others as recent recipients of national honours from President Bola Tinubu.

The list, which sparked controversy online—especially among supporters of the current administration—listed Yesufu, a vocal critic of the government, among 102 supposed honourees. However, President Tinubu had, during his Democracy Day address on Thursday, June 13, officially announced only 66 recipients of national honours.

Reacting to the misinformation, Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, labelled the list as “fake news.”

“The report about a viral list of national honours, including the name of Aisha Yesufu and attributed to Leadership newspaper, is fake. It should be disregarded,” Ajayi stated in a Facebook post.

He emphasized that the Presidency has not released any list outside of the names announced by President Tinubu during his address at the joint sitting of the National Assembly.

In commemoration of the 2025 Democracy Day, President Tinubu had recognised 66 individuals for their vital roles in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.

Among those honoured posthumously were:

Shehu Musa Yar’Adua – Former Chief of Staff and prominent figure in the fight for democracy

Kudirat Abiola – Wife of the late MKO Abiola and symbol of the June 12 pro-democracy movement

Prof. Humphrey Nwosu – Former NEC Chairman who supervised the historic 1993 elections

The honours were bestowed in recognition of the sacrifices made by these individuals in shaping Nigeria’s democratic legacy.