Labour Party won 40, not 42, seats at National Assembly

Claim: Africa Facts Zone claims the Labour Party (LP) won 42 National Assembly seats and seven Senate seats.

Verdict: False. Our findings show the Labour Party won 40 National Assembly seats, not 42.

Full Text

The announcement of results from the Nigerian general elections has set off controversial debates among citizens who question the fairness of the voting process.

Following this, Africa Facts Zone announced on Twitter that the Labour Party (LP) had won 42 seats at the National Assembly and seven at the Senate after the Labor Party presidential candidate Peter Obi joined the political group. The claimant further alleged that the LP won seven and 35 at the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.

The claim has attracted over 13 thousand likes, 4,481 retweets and 251 comments featuring misinformation. For instance, @IbomPrincess, a user who believed this information to be accurate, affirmed “the feat” without questioning.

“They said LP had no structure. Well, here it is. He who laughs last laughs best,” she reacted.

Similarly, another user, @ADEBOWALE_03, also commented, believing the tweet to be accurate.

He said: “Peter Obi’s grace is exceptional. In fact, someone can use his name to seek blessing and grace from Al-Mighty God, and such prayers would be answered. Grace dey flow on that man’s head.”

To curb the spread of misinformation and highlight the accurate result, DUBAWA decided to investigate.

Verification

Firstly, we conducted a Google keyword search, producing many reports published by credible news platforms.

In a Premium Times publication, referencing the breakdown released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Labour Party won 34 and six at the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively. This makes a total of 40 seats, as against the viral post, which had “42”.