The Director General of the National Orientation Agency, (NOA) Dr. Garba Abari has warned the public to beware of a fake public alert on safety tips during rainstorm which was purpotedly issued by the Agency and is in circulation, mostly on the social media.
According to him, the Agency would want to make it clear that the alert on safety tips was not issued by the Agency and does not allign with our operational procedure. “Our procedure require that relevant government Agencies issue a warning and seek NOA”s intervention to take to a wider public.
“The notice itself does not conform with known scientific evidence on safety during rainstorm and therefore misleading” he was quoted as saying by the NOA Assistant Director in charge of PRESS matters, Mr. Paul Odenyi.
NOA therefore appealed to Nigerians to ignore the message as it is the handiwork of merchants of fake news for which the Agency has committed man hour and resources to preach against.
The DG urged all Nigerians to join the fight against fake news and hate speech
The fake public notice reads: “In view of the recently observed violent rainstorms. The outlook is that we should expect more heavy downpours with intense lightning flashes.
“To avoid risks to lives and property. The general public is hereby advised to avoid taking shelter under metallic structures and not to hold metallic objects.
“Other Safety Tips;
1. Don’t use mobile phone when its raining.
2. Switch off your TV set.
3. Stay away from transformers and electronic objects.
4. Stay away from mirrors and glass objects.
5. Avoid taking baths when its raining.
“Let’s all stay safe in this changing climate.
“THIS MESSAGE IS FROM THE NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENCY (NOA)* ??????”