Claim: A user on Facebook claims that a Dutch national has declared an interest in contesting for governor of Plateau State in Nigeria.
The claim that a Dutch national has declared interest to contest for governor of Plateau State in Nigeria is false. The whole post was coined to misinform the public.
Full Text
The 2023 general elections in Nigeria is perhaps the major event most Nigerians are looking up to. Already, the social media space in the nation is going wild with diverse discourses around the upcoming elections.
One user on Facebook even claims that a Dutch international has declared interest to contest as governor of Plateau State in the upcoming 2023 general elections in Nigeria. The user shared the post alongside a poster of the alleged contestant named, Yohanna Maigona, AKA “Sarkin Bature Plateau” who is said to be contesting under the All for All People’s Party.
In the narrative accompanied by the poster, the user states that the real name of the Dutch national is Wieber Boer, but Yohanna Maigona is his Nigerian name because he was born and bred in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.
“A Dutch International has declared an interest in contesting for governor of Plateau state. His real name is Wieber Boer, he’s a dutch. Yohanna Maigona is his Nigerian name. He was born in Jos, he schooled in Jos too. He said he has the solution to take Plateau state out of the woods.What do you think???”
The post attracted over a thousand reactions, with multiple comments and several re-shares. One user, Idowu Osoba, unhappy with the news, admitted that the alleged candidate would not be any better to the Nigerian politician if he had lived in Jos.
“If all the life he lived in Jos and Nigeria, count me out because he will behave like Nigerian politicians.”
Other users felt the same, insinuating he may even be worse than the Nigerian politicians.
“Dude may be Dutch and white, but can still be a pro max of Nigerian politicians, considering his early environment and current disposition — psychodynamically,” Dahal commented.
Plateau is the twelfth-largest state in Nigeria. It is approximately in the centre of the country and regionally in the North-central part of Nigeria.
Verification
Wieber Boer
On the website of the “All On,” an energy innovation company with a mission to increase access to commercial energy products and services for under-served and unserved off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, Wieber Boer is presented as the Chief Executive Officer of All On.
Other details provided about him showed he “joined the team from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he was one of the founders of the strategy firm’s Lagos office.
Prior to BCG, Dr. Boer spent five years with the Heirs Holdings Group in Lagos, playing roles, including Chief of Staff to the Chairman, Director of Strategy, and CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.”
“He spent one year studying political science at the University of Jos, and completed his primary and secondary education at Hillcrest School, also in Jos, Nigeria, where he was born and raised.”
So far, there are no reports online about Mr Boer’s intentions to run for the office of Governor in Plateau State. Even more, Mr Boer has debunked the claims on his LinkedIn page, where he “categorically” stated that he had no intentions to contest for any political office in Nigeria.
“It has come to my attention that posters implying that I am running for Governor of Plateau State under the name of Yohanna Maigona have gone viral. I am categorically stating that I have no intention of running for political office in Nigeria, and I am not eligible to do so.”
Mr Boer confirmed that he was truly born in Jos and raised in Taraba State.
“The only truth to the insinuation is that I was born in Jos and raised in Taraba and Plateau states to Dutch missionary parents and have spent the last 12 years living in Lagos and serving Nigeria and Nigerians in various capacities. I have always been a staunch believer in the potential of Nigeria and will continue to support the country’s development from the sidelines,” Boer stated.
Additionally, there is no such political party as “All for All People’s Party” in Nigeria. This was apparently created to misinform Nigerians.
Conclusion
Although the acclaimed Dutch national was truly raised and bred in Nigeria. The claim that he intends to run as governor of Plateau state is false.
