Buhari sacks own official over plagiarism of Obama’s speech

The Deputy Director linked to the plagiarism of Obama’s speech in President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech when he launched the “Change Begins With Me” campaign has been redeployed from the State House.

Speaking on condition of anonimity, a source close to the presidency reveals that the said director who was discovered to have copied part of a speech by President Barack Obama of United States has been sacked.

“At 8 o’clock on the Monday morning following the allegations, he reported at the office of the Head of Service, and he was immediately asked to vacate his position and office at the State House pending further measures which will be guided by civil service rules and regulations,” Our source disclosed. The Presidency has also taken steps to avoid a repeat of such an embarrassing occurrence which sources said goes against everything that President Muhammadu Buhari represents and stands for. 

A new digital process has been put in place in the State House to aid the process of drafting speeches. This includes the provision of tools that detect plagiarism, similar to those used by editors and academics around the world. Meanwhile the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity equally confirmed that the officer is no longer in the State House. 

The government of President Buhari had since expressed regret over what it said was an unfortunate incident, expressing hopes that Nigeria can look beyond it to embrace the message of change.

Vanguard