The civil servant in question has been suspended and his name forwarded to the Civil Service Commission for appropriate punishment.
The Ondo State Government has suspended a civil servant for reportedly spreading fake news about the death of the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.
The Head of Service, Pastor John Adeyemo, who did not disclose the Identity of the civil servant, said that “the disciplinary measure was based on the death rumour being peddled about the governor.”
According to Adeyemo, the civil servant in question has been suspended and his name forwarded to the Civil Service Commission for appropriate punishment.
He said the officer shared the fake news on his Facebook account, adding that such behaviour would not be condoned in government.
“Incidentally, I called Mr Governor a day before the rumour and we spoke and chatted. So, when I heard the fake news I was disturbed and asked; who is this fellow carrying this terrible rumour I knew Mr Governor was alive and with vigour. So, I never believed it,” he said.
SaharaReporters had reported how Akeredolu traveled to Germany for medical treatment days after the March 26 All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention in Abuja.
Days after the report, a blog rumoured that he had died in a German hospital.
Meanwhile, speaking on arrival in the state, the governor, confirmed he was in Germany for his “deserved rest.”
He however described the rumour of his death as wicked and politically motivated.
“On the 1st, I took up my deserved rest in Germany, this is what I have done in the last a week and the half until I heard about this, the best way you can describe it is a wicked rumor that I’m not alive. They said I was bed ridden, that I was on life support but my support is Christ,” the governor had said.