No, Dangote has NOT Advised Against Donating to African Leaders

An online news portal, ghanahubnews.blogspot.com, has published a story which is suggesting that Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group, has called on Africans to stop donating to their governments in support of efforts aimed at controlling the spreading of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Titled “Coronavirus: Do Not Donate A Penny To Any African Leader – Alhajj Aliko Dangote” the story which was published on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, is being shared across many social media platforms.

The story quotes Mr. Dangote to have said: “Don’t waste the little you have on any government, they are richer than you. Rather look for people in your locality and community to give them food and some little money to support them in this time of no work.” 

Upon fact-checking the claims of the said publication, fact-checkghana.com concludes that the story is false. Below is the explanation.

The story does not indicate where and when exactly Mr. Dangote made such claims. Thus, the news article fails to provide the source of the information, which is very crucial for any journalistic piece. Since the story failed to indicate the source of its claim, the fact-checking team searched on the website of Dangote Group and the official social media handles of Mr. Dangote to find out whether he had made any such claims. The checks revealed he has said nothing to that effect.

On the contrary, Mr. Dangote has indicated on his twitter handle (@alikodangote) that he is leading an initiative that is supporting the Nigerian government in its efforts to fight the Covid-19.

Also, further checks conducted online to verify if other news websites have published any similar report revealed that no news portal or media outlet has published any story remotely closer to the content and claims of the story.

On the contrary, there are news stories that corroborate his tweet about working with others to mobilise resources to help the Nigerian government in the fight against Covid-19.