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In a bold move to strengthen electoral integrity, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) has launched a real-time fact-checking initiative to monitor and verify claims around the Anambra State governorship election.
This live fact-checking effort seeks to curb the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and political propaganda that often cloud Nigeria’s electoral processes. By scrutinising information regarding the election as it emerges, the coalition aims to promote fact-based political discourse, minimise tensions driven by false narratives, enhance voter awareness, and uphold a transparent and credible election.
At a time when Nigeria faces increasing threats from fake news and manipulative content, the NFC’s proactive approach is a crucial safeguard for democracy. It empowers citizens with verified information, ensuring that electoral choices are guided by truth rather than deception.
Stay tuned as our team brings you verified insights and real-time updates from the NFC’s fact-checking situation room.
Live Check Updates
Claim: An X user @mr_niceguy234 claimed that Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has declared a public holiday on Friday, November 7, 2025, because teachers are to serve as delegates during the election.
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Findings: News reports confirm that the Anambra State government had declared Friday a public holiday for all workers in the state, not only teachers. In a statement, the state government said the directive aimed to encourage workers to participate actively in the elections.
NFC observer Mboho Eno of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development could not confirm the assertion of teachers serving as delegates. The claimant has also deleted the tweet.
Source: TheCable, Election Observers
Verdict: Misleading
Claim: A Facebook post urging votes for the Labour Party claims, “All you need is your voter’s card, index finger, and ballot paper,” with a graphic saying, “Use the index finger to vote.”
Findings: The 2023 election voting procedure document does not specify any finger for voting. Also, ahead of the 2019 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (NEC) addressed claims about which finger should be used for voting. In a tweet on February 12, 2019, INEC clarified: “A voter can use any finger to vote but must ensure the mark is clear and placed inside the box of the chosen political party without straying into another box.”
Source: INEC
Verdict: Misleading
Claim: A Facebook user claimed that security operatives in Anambra State have uncovered how Ukachukwu Nicholas, APC candidate in Saturday’s Anambra governorship election, planned to use fake police and thugs to disrupt polls in Nnewi South & North, Ihala, and Onitsha South local government areas.
Findings: The Anambra State Police Command dismissed the allegation. Its spokesperson, Ikenga Anthony, refuted the claim. Further checks showed that several media outlets reported on Friday that robust security arrangements had been made to ensure a peaceful election in Anambra. For example, Channels Television noted the deployment of heavy security to escort election materials across LGAs, while The Punch reported tight security in Awka as residents prepared to vote on Saturday.
Source: Police, Channels TV and Punch newspaper
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user claims that Anambra’s voter turnout has hardly exceeded 22% in any election.
Findings: An analysis by Premium Times of past Anambra voter turnout reveals that in the 1999 election, 1.02 million of the 2.2 million registered voters participated, representing a turnout of 46.4%. Similarly, the state recorded 47.22% turnout in the 2003 election. These findings also align with a recent report published by the Guardian newspaper.
Source: Premium Times, Guardian newspaper
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user asserts that Charles Soludo removed Arabic inscriptions on banknotes in Nigeria when he was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Findings: A review of multiple media reports shows that the Nigerian government removed the Arabic (Ajami-derived) phrases on the lower domination of the bank notes in February 2007, citing a move to deepen national unity. Additionally, a check on the official website of the nation’s apex bank reveals that Soludo was the governor of the CBN in Nigeria at the time the shift was made.
Source: TheCable, New Yorker and CBN
Verdict: Misleading
Claim: An X user claims that a governorship election was held somewhere in Anambra two days ago.
Findings: The “United States of Biafra Government,” now coordinated by Ngozi Orabueze after the arrest of Simon Ekpa in Finland, organised what they described as a county governorship election on November 4th, 2025.
The secessionist group had previously issued threats to prevent any Nigerian-led elections in Anambra State. However, days before the scheduled November 8th election, the group instead proceeded to conduct its own poll in rural communities around Anambra.
While recent videos showed that this event occurred, it had no connection to the November 8 election, which is being coordinated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Source: X videos, INEC
Verdict: Correct
Claim: An X user, Biafra First Son, claimed that Anambra’s governorship election will feature Nigeria’s first real-time result dashboard powered with artificial intelligence.
Findings:
Multiple media platforms revealed that the AI-powered dashboard, built by SoftSmart Enterprise Solutions, will read and process official result forms (EC8A) uploaded to the INEC’s IReV from 5,720 polling units across 326 electoral wards in the state. The process will last approximately 30 seconds, with an accuracy rate of 95%. The system also includes an Election Night Analytics Suite, which will generate trend projections, regional performance breakdowns, and turnout estimates using live data.
Source: Daily Trust, Punch Newspaper
Verdict: Correct
Claim: A Facebook user claims that the November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election will be held in 5,118 out of 5,200 polling units in the state.
Findings: Multiple media reports quoted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, as saying, “the election will be held in 5,718 of the 5,720 Polling Units in the state. Voting will not take place in the remaining two Polling Units due to the absence of registered voters.”
Source: INEC, Thisday, Channels TV
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: Michael Chibuz, in a Facebook group of over 85,000 members, claimed (archived) that two of Chukwuma Soludo’s Mayors were caught with N750 million cash each.
Findings: In October 2024, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo swore in 21 local government chairpersons referred to as mayors. The Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition found no reports confirming such an arrest, and the Anambra State Police Command said the claim is false. Police Spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga informed the coalition that police patrol groups across the state had not reported such an incident.
Source: Nigeria Police
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user @Ojay147 posted a picture of a man who sustained an injury on his head with the hashtag #anambradecides2025.
Findings: An image search shows the image has been online since 2018. A TV report from Igbere TV News on June 24, 2018, shows that the picture was taken during a violent clash among members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Dunukofia Local Government Area, Anambra State. The party’s deputy chairperson, Emma Otika, reportedly sustained a head injury during the attack when party executives from Dunukofia staged a protest at APGA’s state secretariat and the state House of Assembly in Akwa.
Source: Igbere TV News, Facebook
Verdict: Misleading
Claim: A Facebook user, Bube Africa, shared a video displaying bundles of cash, claiming in the caption that it was “election-sensitive materials” delivered for the Anambra election.
Findings: A reverse image search reveals that the same video was posted on Instagram in April 2025, months before the Anambra election in November. The captions claim the bundles of cash are from Nigeria’s socialite, Obi Cubana’s birthday celebration. Also, using keyword search, we located the same video posted on Pilse Nigeria’s TikTok account. The video has been on the internet before the Anambra election.
Source: Google reverse image search, Pulse Nigeria
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user, @Esteembethemoth, congratulates (archived) Governor Charles Soludo as the winner in the ongoing Anambra elections.
Findings: As of 12:30 pm on November 8, voting is ongoing in all polling units in Anambra State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to declare a winner for the governorship election.
Source: INEC
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user, @Tkoy2025, claimed (archived) that there is massive vote-buying ongoing in Anambra State by APGA and APC.
Findings: Two journalists covering the election, Chingorom Ugwu of PREMIUM TIMES and Mustapha Usman of the ICIR, confirmed witnessing vote-buying in multiple locations. Also, PREMIUM TIMES’ early report indicates that vote-buying is rampant.
Source: Premium Times, Journalists
Verdict: Correct
Claim: A TikTok user, Nigeria Undivided, shared a video showing a group of women being helped to thumbprint on a ballot paper, claiming it was recorded in Anambra on November 8.
Findings: A key frame analysis of the video revealed that it was originally shared on X in 2023 by user @ThatVyktur, who alleged election rigging in the South East during the general election. The video is therefore not recent.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user claimed that Ezechukwu Nweke, Action Alliance (AA) gubernatorial candidate, is currently leading the polls by a wide margin.
Findings: As of 2:37 pm, field observers from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) reported that election results had not yet been sorted or collated. Vote sorting across all polling units began at 2:30 pm, making it impossible to verify which candidate was leading at the time the claim was made.
Source: CJID field observers
Verdict: Incorrect
This will be updated timely.
