Presidency Denies Conferring National Honour on Aisha Yesufu Amid Viral List

 

On June 14, 2025, the Nigerian presidency clarified that no national honours were conferred upon activist Aisha Yesufu by President Bola Tinubu.

Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a statement via X on Friday dismissing a viral “awardees list” that included Yesufu’s name. Ajayi explained the list originated from a fabricated Leadership Newspaper publication, and the presidency confirmed that apart from recognitions mentioned in Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech, no fresh honours were awarded.

The clarification arose amidst confusion following Thursday’s national honours ceremony, during which notable figures such as activist Shehu Sani were officially recognised.

Yesufu, well-known for her support of 2023 Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, has remained a vocal critic of the current administration. She has maintained that Tinubu is not her president and has previously expressed that the 2023 election was unfairly won by Tinubu.

Her political views often align with Obi’s ideologies, advocating for reforms she believes Nigeria deeply needs