DUBAWA alongside its partners under the Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NCF) has commenced a live fact check of claims around the Sep. 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election.
This is to ensure the dispensation of accurate information during the election period, The live fact-check will verify false or misleading information shared on social media, such as X, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The coalition is also investigating some claims from the governorship debate held by the Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) in partnership with the Edo Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Sep. 13, 2024.
The debate featured candidates from the New People’s Party (NNPP), African Action Congress (AAC), All Progressive Grand Alliances (APGA), All Progressive Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), and Youth Progressive Party (YPP).
Below are the claims:
CLAIM 1: The African Action Congress (AAC) governorship candidate in the 2024 Edo State governorship election, Udoh Oberaifo, claimed that the approved Edo budget for 2024 is N325 billion.
FINDINGS: According to the official document published by the Edo State Government on March 25, 2023, the total approved budget for 2024 was N342.8 billion.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: Edo State Government FY 2024 Approved Budget (www.edostate.gov.ng)
CLAIM 2: Azemhe Azena, the Edo governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) said only about 200 doctors were employed by the Edo State government to a population of 5 million.
FINDINGS: In April 2023, the Edo State Government announced plans to recruit 700 healthcare practitioners, including medical doctors, to strengthen its primary healthcare system. However, the number of doctors to be recruited was unspecified. According to 2022 data obtained from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) published by The Cable Index, there are 1,777 medical doctors in Edo State.
VERDICT: INSUFFICIENT PROOF
SOURCES: Edo State Government Website, The Cable Index
CLAIM 3: Isaiah Osifo, the Edo gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) said the unemployment rate in Edo State is a little over 20%.
FINDINGS: The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for Q4 2020 showed that the unemployment rate in Edo is 49.02% while the underemployment rate stood at 15.86%. Recent data available has no breakdown for Nigerian States.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: National Bureau of Statistics
CLAIM 4: The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, claimed that President Bola Tinubu did not sign a peace accord when he was a presidential candidate in 2023. He disclosed this while speaking at the 2024 Edo Election Security Townhall organised by Channels TV on Sep. 15.
FINDINGS: Checks by the NFC show that two peace accords were signed by presidential candidates to prevent violence during Nigeria’s 2023 general election. Tinubu was absent at the first one organised by the National Peace Committee held on Sep. 29, 2022. He was, however, represented by his vice, Kashim Shettima.
However, Tinubu was present at the signing of the second pact held on Feb. 23, 2023.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: TheCable, The Punch
CLAIM 5: Ada Obowo, an X user, shares a viral video claiming that Edo women resisted Nigerian police officers from arresting a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in Ikpoba-Okha Ward 2 ahead of Saturday’s election in Edo State.
FINDINGS: Checks by the NFC using a Google Reverse Image tool reveal an earlier version of the video posted on X on Sept. 17, 2024. Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Nigerian Police spokesman, remarked under the post that the policemen in the video were on official duty. His comment was, however, not connected to the apprehension of a PDP leader as claimed.
According to Adejobi, the police officers are IRT operatives who are investigating the killing of a policeman at the Benin Airport in July 2024. “We have secured a warrant of arrest on him. The men eventually left him when the place became crowdy,” says Adejobi.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
SOURCES: Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Nigeria Police Force spokesperson.
CLAIM 6: An X user, @idofoi posted a video purportedly showing Tinubu asking Edo voters to reject Obaseki in Saturday’s Edo gubernatorial poll.
FINDINGS: A Google Reverse Image search conducted on the keyframes obtained from the video shows that the footage has been online since September 15, 2020, during the last gubernatorial election in Edo state. An earlier version of the video originally posted by TVC shows Tinubu addressing residents of Edo State urging them not to vote for Obaseki, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate at the time.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
SOURCES: TVC news
CLAIM 7: An X user, Akpakominza, claimed that Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Edo state, distributed a trailer load of rice hoarded by the incumbent Edo state’s governor, Godwin Obaseki.
FINDINGS: NFC ran a Google Reverse Image search on a keyframe from the video and verified that Mr Okpebholo is the distributor. Also, the inscription on the packaged bag from the trailer in the video reads, “Federal Government of Nigeria Food Security Programme.”
However, as available facts indicate, there is no evidence to verify the bag’s content. An advanced keyword search about the initiative found on the bag’s inscription led to the National Food Security Programme, a Federal Government initiative established in 2008 to tackle food insecurity in the country and boost the agriculture sector through special interventions. These interventions did not focus on the provision of rice alone but on overhauling the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
Also, the statement that Mr Okpebholo (APC) distributed rice hoarded by Mr Obaseki (PDP) to conclude his campaign raises an eyebrow because PDP is fielding Asue Ighodalo, who has the governor’s full support.
VERDICT: INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
SOURCE: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
CLAIM 8: X user, Uromi First Son, posted two videos showing a police armoured personnel carrier, with the inscription indicating the Imo State government donated it. The narrator claimed that the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma sent the vehicle to rig the Edo election.
FINDINGS: A reverse image of the keyframes of the video yielded no result. But using a landmark in the video, the Austrock Market and Google map, we determined that the police armoured personnel carrier was on Benin City-Ehor Road, Avbiama, Benin City, Edo State when the video was shot.
Media reports show that the Imo State government donated such vehicles to the Nigerian police in August 2022 and again in June 2024. The police deployed 35,000 personnel for the Edo election drawn from different states. It is however not out-of-place to find police officers and operational vehicles from other states in Edo during this election period.
Therefore, the claim that the Imo governor sent the police vehicle to rig the Edo election is not backed by sufficient evidence.
VERDICT: INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
SOURCES: EON INTELLIGENCE, Punch
CLAIM 9: An X user, @X_Dailly posted a video with the caption that the Federal Government has banned Edo State vigilante.
FINDINGS: On September 12, 2024, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun announced that no private or state-owned security organisation would be permitted to operate during and after the September 21 governorship election in Edo State. The IGP announced during a stakeholders’ meeting organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin City. He added that “all local security groups in Edo State should refrain from participating in the election. The activities of the Edo State Security Network are suspended and will remain so.”
However, the Edo State government has challenged the IGP’s announcement. They argued that it is unconstitutional for the IGP to make such a declaration, insisting that the ESSN is a body set up by law passed by the Edo state House of Assembly”.
VERDICT: CORRECT
SOURCES: The Cable, Daily Trust, Channels TV
CLAIM 10: An X user, @X_Dailly posted a video with the caption that the Federal Government has banned Edo State vigilante.
FINDINGS: On September 12, 2024, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun announced that no private or state-owned security organization would be permitted to operate during and after the September 21 governorship election in Edo State. The IGP announced during a stakeholders’ meeting organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin City. He added that “all local security groups in Edo State should refrain from participating in the election. The activities of the Edo State Security Network are suspended and will remain so.”
However, the Edo State government has challenged the IGP’s announcement. They argued that it is unconstitutional for the IGP to make such a declaration, insisting that the ESSN is a body set up by law passed by the Edo state House of Assembly”.
VERDICT: CORRECT
SOURCES: The Cable, Daily Trust, Channels TV
CLAIM 11: An X user, @OladepoTaiwo15, claims INEC deployed five resident electoral commissioners (RECs) from APC states – Kaduna, Nasarawa, Yobe, Ondo, and Ebonyi – to the Edo state elections. The social media user warned the PDP to “watch out”.
FINDINGS: Adenike Tadese, INEC’s deputy director of publicity, confirmed to the NFC that the commissioners were deployed from the states to Edo but clarified that the RECs are randomly selected from different states, and are not affiliated to any political party.
VERDICT: MISLEADING.
SOURCE: INEC
CLAIM 12: An X user claimed the current governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, won the 2020 elections in Akoko Edo Local Government for the PDP and thus a stronghold of the PDP.
FINDINGS: INEC’s final result for the 2020 governorship election in Edo state shows the APC won the election in Akoko Edo LGA with 22,953 votes while the PDP got 20,101 votes.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: INEC
CLAIM 13: A viral press statement is claiming the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata has withdrawn from Saturday’s governorship election and endorsed the PDP’s candidate. It is being shared on Facebook and X.
FINDINGS: Checks show the statement was forged using one of the public statements released and signed by Mr. Akpata. The statement also carries two different dates. On the upper part reads 20th September 2024, while the bottom part reads July 29, 2024.
Zekeri Idris Junior, head of the Labour Party’s campaign media team, told NFC that the viral statement was not authored by Akpata noting that the claim is false. He added that the party’s candidate is still in the race.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: Labour Party’s campaign media team
CLAIM 14: An X user, @BigBrother_M007, claims Nigeria’s Supreme Court disqualified the PDP’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, on the eve of the 2024 Edo governorship election.
FINDINGS: A suit challenging the candidacy of Mr. Ighodalo in the 2024 Edo election was dismissed by a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lack of merit. Both dismissals were widely reported in the media.
There is no evidence of the apex court sitting on the matter or any other matter as of 20th September 2024. Mr. Ighodalo remains on INEC’s final list of candidates.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: TVC News, ThisDay, INEC
CLAIM 15: An X user, @OladepoTaiwo15, claims INEC deployed five resident electoral commissioners (RECs) from APC states – Kaduna, Nasarawa, Yobe, Ondo, and Ebonyi – to the Edo state elections. The social media user warned the PDP to “watch out”.
FINDINGS: Adenike Tadese, INEC’s deputy director of publicity, confirmed to the NFC that the commissioners were deployed from the states to Edo but clarified that the RECs are randomly selected from different states, and are not affiliated to any political party.
VERDICT: MISLEADING.
SOURCE: INEC
CLAIM 16: An X user claimed the current governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, won the 2020 elections in Akoko Edo Local Government for the PDP and thus a stronghold of the PDP.
FINDINGS: INEC’s final result for the 2020 governorship election in Edo state shows the APC won the election in Akoko Edo LGA with 22,953 votes while the PDP got 20,101 votes.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: INEC
CLAIM 17: A viral press statement is claiming the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata has withdrawn from Saturday’s governorship election and endorsed the PDP’s candidate. It is being shared on Facebook and X.
FINDINGS: Checks show the statement was forged using one of the public statements released and signed by Mr. Akpata. The statement also carries two different dates. On the upper part reads 20th September 2024, while the bottom part reads July 29, 2024.
Zekeri Idris Junior, head of the Labour Party’s campaign media team, told NFC that the viral statement was not authored by Akpata noting that the claim is false. He added that the party’s candidate is still in the race.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCE: Labour Party’s campaign media team
CLAIM 18: An X user, @BigBrother_M007, claims Nigeria’s Supreme Court disqualified the PDP’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, on the eve of the 2024 Edo governorship election.
FINDINGS: A suit challenging the candidacy of Mr. Ighodalo in the 2024 Edo election was dismissed by a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lack of merit. Both dismissals were widely reported in the media.
There is no evidence of the apex court sitting on the matter or any other matter as of 20th September 2024. Mr. Ighodalo remains on INEC’s final list of candidates.
VERDICT: INCORRECT
SOURCES: TVC News, ThisDay, INEC
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