One of the officials at the Northwest Governor’s Office, Bongam Woshyntum, has described the news about the explosion of Lake Awing as fake and useless.

According to the Governor’s aide, such malicious information is fabricated by social media outlets to instil fear in the population.

Bongam Woshyntum was speaking to reporters in Bamenda on Saturday, May 19, 2018,  24 hours after the entire North West Region was plunged into pandemonium, when news broke on Friday, May 18,2018, that Lake Awing has exploded and is emitting some dangerous substances that could be detrimental to the health of the population.

The news, which is now emerging as fake news, generated an unprecedented demand for palm oil across the Region, as denizens of the Region were advised to drink palm oil in a bid to mitigate the dangerous effects of the gas that was allegedly being emitted by the Lake.

When the news hit the social media platforms, family members from far away Europe, America and Asia were calling their loved ones back home, instructing them to drink palm oil in other to remain safe. Even Northwesterners as far off as the South West, Littoral, West and other Regions of the country were also forced to drink palm oil due to repeated calls from their relatives and friends.

The reaction of the North West population was not surprising, given that the countless deaths orchestrated by the Lake Nyos disaster some years ago, were still very fresh in their minds.

However, the Governor’s aide said the news was fake and never happened. Bongam Woshyntum’s point of view was corroborated by the President General of the Ndong Awing Cultural and Development Association (NACDA), Ndang Nguh Mbi.

In a communiqué dated May 19, 2018, Ndang Nguh Mbi wrote: “The President General of the Ndong Awing Cultural and Development Association informs all sons and daughters of Awing at home and in the Diaspora that the information circulating in the media about an alleged explosion in Lake Awing is incorrect. His Royal Majesty Fozo II of Awing was at the Lake early this morning May 19, 2018, and found the Lake calm. He also talked to those living around the lake who denied having heard or witnessed any explosion in or around the lake last night,” he said.

However, the population is still waiting for a more authoritative source to vouchsafe a word concerning the May 18 incident in the North West Region, which has reportedly resulted to the scarcity of palm oil in the Region.