A tweet by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) via its official Twitter handle: @nidcom_gov had on August 26 referred to the Nigerian-born Kaycee Madu as Canada’s Minister of Justice.
The tweet, which was posted at 8:51PM Nigerian time on Wednesday August 26, 2020, had garnered 666 Likes, 260 retweets and 70 comments as at 4:00PM the following day, Thursday.
The tweet reads:
“Congratulations to a Nigerian born Kaycee Madu @KayceeMaduYEG who becomes Canada’s Minister Of Justice.”
Similarly, a Nigerian newspaper, the Vanguard, also reported albeit erroneously, Madu’s appointment as Canada’s Minister of Justice. The report headline reads ” Nigerian-born, Kaycee Madu, appointed Canada’s Minister of Justice.” The lead paragraph of the report also referred to him “Canada’s new Minister of Justice”.
Not done, many Nigeria personalities stepped on one another to be recognised with the man’s success and congratulated him on ‘making history’; among them was the country’s president.
President Muhammadu Buhari through a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Femi Adesina, on Thursday, described the honour as “landmark and historic,” saying it once again pedestals people of Nigerian descent as go-getters, who distinguish themselves in different walks of life.
However, a closer investigation by our reporter revealed that as at Saturday, August 297, 2020, David Lametti, a Canadian legal scholar and Liberal politician, is still the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. A fact also supported by the FactCheckHub.
Further findings by the FactCheckHub indicated that Kaycee Madu was appointed Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, a province in Canada – contrary to the claim by the NIDCOM’s tweet and Vanguard’s report.
According to the official Canadian government’s website, Canada is currently made up of ten provinces and three territories.
Also, a congratulatory tweet from Doug Downey, a Parliamentarian for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, and Attorney General of Ontario (Canada), via his Twitter handle: @douglasdowney, referred to Madu as “Alberta’s new Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.
Madu’s profile has been updated on the website of the Alberta’s provincial government as its minister of Justice and Solicitor General.
The FactCheckHub also reports that several Nigerian media including The Guardian (Nigeria), The Cable and Premium Times reported Madu’s appointment as Alberta’s new Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.
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