The stage is set for some governorship candidates, contesting in the July 16 Osun governorship election, to debate ahead of the polls.
Five candidates are expected to participate in the debate supported by Enough-is-Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria) and broadcast live on Arise Television.
The candidates expected are; Akin Ogunbiyi of Accord party, incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yusuf Lasun of Labour Party (LP), Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Goke Omigbodun of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The candidates will field questions bordering on education, security, economy and others from anchors.
DUBAWA is monitoring the debate for live fact-checking of claims to ensure accuracy.
Below are quick checks on claims made during the debate:
Claim 1: Incumbent governor, Adegboyega Oyetola of APC claimed he recruited 1,000 teachers in December 2021.
This is true as the claim is supported by multiple news reports. Punch, Vanguard, The Nation and several other platforms reported the recruitment.
Clamim 2: Akin Ogunbiyi says “this Government has five licences. Instead of partnering with internationally recognised mining companies, they chose to partner with the Chinese”.
While it is true that Osun state has five valid mineral titles, they are not all awarded to Chinese companies.
Verification
According to data from the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, there are five valid mineral titles in Osun. Two of these titles are owned by private companies- a Nigerian (Kareem Mutiu Adubi) and a Canada-based mining exploration company (Segilola Resources Operating Ltd), two belong to Nigerian Mining Corporation Inc and the last title belongs to Omoluabi Mineral Promotion Company Limited.
Claim 3: The candidate of the SDP, Goke Omigbodun, quoting UNICEF data, said the percentage of out-of-school children for primary school is 26.9% and 10.5% for secondary school.
UNICEF 2016/2017 multiple indicator cluster survey shows that the figure given by Mr Omigbodun for out-of-school children in primary and secondary schools is correct.
Claim 4: SDP candidate, Goke Omigbodun, said 47% of people in Osun State live below the poverty line, the worst in the federation.
A 2020 data from NBS revealed that Osun State has a poverty index of 8.52% which is the state’s lowest index since return to democracy and third in the federation.
