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Claim: An X user claims all the senior executive appointments under Tinubu-led administration are from the Southwest.
Verdict: Misleading! Available information from media reports shows that President Tinubu’s appointees have been selected from all geopolitical zones in Nigeria, contrary to the claim that they were selected from a particular ethnic group.
Full Text
In recent times, ethnic bigotry and sentiment have been a spurring concern in Nigeria as a result of its heterogeneous nature. As a country dominated by ample ethnic groups, this diversity has led to hate speech and grievances predominantly among the three major nationalities in the country.
An X user, @Waspapping, on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, claimed that the President Tinubu-led administration is filled with senior executive appointees from the Southwest.
His post reads, “All the senior executive appointments under this administration have gone to the South-west. We are left with SA’s.”
The post has generated about 122 views, 1156 likes, 112 reposts, 42 quotes and 15 bookmarks.
In the comment section, some application users expressed support for his assertion, but others debunked it as untrue.
“This was exactly what Buhari did when he was on seat. It is the time of the West now. No more Federal character in Nigeria,” @Marylifted wrote.
Another user, @jidifeanyi said, “It’s turn by turn. Buhari did worse. In the end, mediocrity reigns.”
Countering the claim, @Oyeani_Kalu asserted, “You are always poisoning the atmosphere, so why post what everyone knows is fake news? Of all the North got in this administration yet, you’re still complaining?”
“This is wrong, please.” @bummiearo reacted.
Seeing the huge audience engagement and diverse opinions the post has generated, DUBAWA sought to investigate the post.
Verification
To determine the claim’s veracity, we carried out keyword research on Mr Tinubu’s ministerial appointees. We found a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism on Aug. 17, 2023, highlighting the ministerial candidates and their states of origin.
In the report, the Northwest region has the highest number of nominated ministers, ten 10, followed by the Southwest region, which takes nine. Both the Northeast and North Central regions have the same number, eight, while the South-South and South-East regions have seven and five, respectively.
Then, we checked the names of these nominees to see if they eventually became ministers, and we found that the Nigerian president had appointed all of them.
Similarly, a review of a Channels report shows that Mr Tinubu appointed ministers that captured all the geopolitical zones.
Moreover, Punch and PM news reported similar events, as seen here and here.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings reveal that President Tinubu’s appointments are not concentrated in a particular geopolitical zone, as claimed. Instead, the appointments were made across all geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
