The reaction from the presidency follows the viral circulation of a voice note that purportedly captures President Tinubu asking former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to step down in his favour during the lead-up to the 2023 general elections — a claim that has ignited fierce debate across Nigerian social media platforms.
The storm began when an X user identified as Aneex questioned the authenticity of the trending audio, suggesting that VeryDarkMan was deliberately exploiting the emotions of a particular ethnic group to amplify the recording's reach and impact.
The user wrote: "How do you really convince someone who has already decided and believes in their mind that this is actually Asiwaju's voice? What kind of cheap propaganda is this? VDM knows that Ibos are highly emotional people, and that's why he enjoys riding on their emotions."
The post quickly gained traction, drawing attention to the broader question of whether the audio was ever genuine — or a carefully crafted piece of political misinformation designed to damage the President's reputation.
Onanuga Demands VeryDarkMan Faces the Law Reacting swiftly, Bayo Onanuga reposted the statement and used it as a platform to call for decisive legal action against VeryDarkMan.
In his response, Onanuga described VDM's role in amplifying the fake audio as an egregious abuse of social media and made clear that spreading fabricated recordings of the President is not something the presidency intends to overlook.
"This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu.
This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform," Onanuga stated.
The language was pointed and deliberate — framing VeryDarkMan not merely as someone who shared a post, but as an active distributor of disinformation with real consequences for public trust and political stability.
The Alleged Audio and What It Claims At the centre of the Onanuga VeryDarkMan fake audio controversy is a voice note that reportedly features a voice claiming to be President Tinubu allegedly instructing Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2023 presidential race.
The claim, if true, would carry enormous political weight — suggesting a behind-the-scenes deal between two of the election's most prominent figures.
However, no credible verification of the audio has emerged, and the presidency has not acknowledged it as authentic.
For many observers, the rapid spread of the recording is less about its content and more about how quickly unverified material can take on a life of its own in Nigeria's highly charged digital space.
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