Fakoyejo OlalekanThe official Twitter account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited was hacked on Wednesday, according to the government-run corporation, after posting a partisan tweet in reaction to Bola Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
Message from the tweet hinted that Tinubu would chose a Northern Muslim as his running mate, after the former Lagos State Governor won the All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential primary on Wednesday.
It was gathered that the tweet was in response to a comment on Twitter, which stated, ‘’The future doesn’t look all that bright for Tinubu. He can’t run with a Muslim VP and the few Christian choices from the north don’t have required political clout. Interesting to see how this plays out.’’
NNPC post suggested APC will field a Muslim-Muslim Presidential ticket for the 2023 election, considering that Tinubu practises the same religion. Recall he contested with incumbent Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, and more, and won by 1,271 delegate votes, while others were below 400.
The tweet from the NNPC Limited account shocked many as the government-owned oil company is meant to be neutral or not political in its activities. But in a statement released on Wednesday, the firm faulted hackers for the political tweet.
Notwithstanding, Nigerians still doubt the veracity of the claim by NNPC.
The “inappropriate message” has been deleted, and according to the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Garba Deen Muhammad, the account has been recovered from the hacker.
‘’The general public is hereby informed that the NNPC Limited’s Twitter handle, @NNPCgroup was compromised and used to send an inappropriate message on 8th June 2022 at 6.35pm. The breach has been successfully addressed, and Twitter handle successfully recovered.
‘’NNPC wishes to reassure the general public that it remains committed to doing business in the most ethical manner at all times.’’ the statement reads, Although, some Nigerians believe the blame placed on an unknown hacker is a form of damage control
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