Edo, Nigeria– In a significant effort to promote electoral integrity, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) which includes Roundcheck has launched real-time fact-checking to verify claims made by political candidates and parties during the upcoming elections.
The NFC’s live fact-checking initiative is designed to combat misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda, which often plague Nigeria’s electoral landscape. By scrutinizing political claims in real-time, the coalition aims to foster fact-based campaigning, reduce the potential for electoral violence fueled by false information, improve voter education, and support a free and fair election process.
Given Nigeria’s growing vulnerability to fake news and propaganda, the NFC’s live fact-checking plays a critical role in protecting the integrity of the country’s elections. This proactive approach will help ensure that voters are well-informed and not misled by false or distorted information.
In addition to the Edo election, the coalition plans to intensify its fact-checking efforts for the upcoming off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State, scheduled for November 2024.
Stay tuned for updates as our team follows the NFC’s live fact-checking efforts and brings you verified reports from the electoral frontline in Edo state.
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Live Check Updates
Claim: 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 Sept 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 September 29, 2022. He was, however, represented by his vice, Kashim Shettima. Tinubu was present at the signing of the second pact held on February 23, 2023.
Source: The Cable, The Punch
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: 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, IGP Kayode Egbetokun announced that no private or state-owned security organisations, including the Edo State Security Network (ESSN), would operate during or after the September 21 Edo governorship election. The Edo State government challenged this, arguing that the ESSN was legally established by the state assembly and that the IGP’s declaration is unconstitutional.
Source: The Cable, Daily Trust, Channels TV
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: 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.
Source: TVC News
Verdict: MISLEADING
Claim: The Edo gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Isaiah Osifo, 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.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: 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.
Source: Edo State Government FY 2024 Approved Budget
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: The Edo governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Azemhe Azena, 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.
Source: Edo State Government Website, The Cable Index
Verdict: INSUFFICIENT PROOF
Claim: An X user @Ponukwu 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.
Source: INEC
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: 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: INEC’s deputy director of publicity, Adenike Tadese, 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.
Source: INEC
Verdict: MISLEADING
CLAIM: 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 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
Source: TVC News, ThisDay, INEC
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: A viral press statement is claiming the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata has withdrawn from the governorship election and endorsed the PDP’s candidate. It is being shared on Facebook and X.
Findings: The statement was forged using one of Akpata’s public releases and features conflicting dates: September 20, 2024, at the top and July 29, 2024, at the bottom. Zekeri Idris Junior, head of the Labour Party’s campaign media team, confirmed to NFC that the viral statement is fake and that their candidate remains in the race.
Source: Labour Party’s campaign media team
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @Crown PrinceCom2 claimed that the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki said the Edo election is a “do or die affair.”
Findings: According to TheCable, Obaseki referred to the Edo election a “do or die affairs” while speaking at the grand finale rally of the People’s Democratic Party on September 13 in the Ekenwan area of Benin City, the state capital. In a follow-up interview with Channels TV, the governor reiterated the statement and expressed no regret for making it.
Source: Channels TV, The Cable
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user @kunmydrey claimed Edo PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo stepped down for Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata.
Findings: A press statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday night stated that Asue Ighodalo Is very much in the race.
Source: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) official X account
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @Crown PrinceCom2 claimed that the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki said the Edo election is a “do or die affair.
Findings: According to TheCable, Obaseki referred to the Edo election as a “do or die affair” while speaking at the grand finale rally of the People’s Democratic Party on September 13 in the Ekenwan area of Benin City, the state capital. In a follow-up interview with Channels TV, the governor reiterated the statement and expressed no regret for making it.
Source: Channels TV, The Cable
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user @kunmydrey claimed Edo PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo stepped down for Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata.
Findings: A press statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday night stated that Asue Ighodalo Is very much in the race.
Source: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) official X account.
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user @lwadiDevelopmen, shared a WhatsApp message stating that the court has disqualified the APC governorship candidate, Monday Okpebholo, in the 2024 Edo election.
Findings: The Cable reports that a magistrate in the Federal Capital Territory, Abubakar Mukhtar, has denied any order disqualifying the APC candidate. The APC candidate had been invited by the court over the discrepancies of his birth certificate, but the court has not passed judgement yet.
Source: The Cable, Platform Times, APC’s spokesperson.
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, OlanipekunTobiD claimed that the Electoral Act does not recognise the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Findings: A court ruling confirmed the Electoral Act 2022 doesn’t mandate electronic result transmission, only BVAS use. Amina Miango a lawyer working with CJID also noted IReV is a viewing platform, and INEC transmits results manually, as allowed by section 50(2).
Source: Channels TV, Punch
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @drkenon posted two videos claiming the police officers seen in the first clip were officers deployed to Edo election, and that the other video shows some Nigeria Police Force officers destroying ballot boxes in the 2023 presidential election.
Findings: Checks by NFC revealed that the first video shows police officers in Edo state ahead of the 2024 Edo governorship election, while the second video was from Lugbe Primary School, Abuja in the 2023 Nigeria presidential election.
Source: News Central TV, Punch
Verdict: Partially Correct
Claim: An X user, @Bigwhaledd, posted a video, claiming it shows the chaos that ensued in a polling unit after some APC thugs were caught trying to steal during the election.
Findings: NFC found that the video had been on the internet before the commencement of the Edo state election on September 21. Therefore, the video is not related to the ongoing Edo election.
Source: OSINT, Google
Verdict: MISLEADING
Claim: An X user, @awkabay001, posted pictures allegedly showing APC rented thugs who are disrupting the elections in Benin, Edo State.
Findings: Analysing the three images with Google Lens shows they had been used during the 2019 general elections. The images have also been used by reputable media outlets including the Premium Times. The Cable, and Daily Trust before the 2024 Edo election.
Source: Google Lens, ICIR, Premium Times, The Cable, BBC
VERDICT: MISLEADING
Claim: An X user, @PO GrassRootM shared an image with the claim that results have been illegally written in Edo North.
Findings: NFC checks, using TinEye and other reverse image searches, show that the picture has been on the internet as far back as 2018 during Nigeria’s 2019 general elections. INEC is yet to announce results from various local governments in Edo State.
Source: OSINT, BBC News
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user, @jamesatts claimed that INEC no longer transmits electronically for real- time result monitoring.
Findings: With the tweet made at 4:02 pm Saturday 21 2024, checks revealed that INEC has uploaded over 3,715 polling unit results as at 4:55pm on the portal which serves as a real-time result monitoring.
Source: INEC IREV
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @Imranmuhdz claims that 1,381 out of 4,519 results have been successfully uploaded to the INEC IREV server for the Edo Governorship Election as of 3:47 pm on Saturday, September 21.
Findings: The INEC IREV portal indicates that 3,845 out of 4,519 results had been uploaded as at 6:07 pm on Saturday, September 21. Bakare Majeed, a Premium Times’ journalist, also confirmed that while some polling units had successfully uploaded their results, others, such as Open Space Osagiede Uzzi in Oredo Local Government were still facing network challenges at the time.
Source: INEC IREV portal, Premium Times
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user claimed thugs disrupted the election process in Ward 3, Unit 33, Egor Local government area of Edo state.
Findings: The deputy director of publicity of INEC Adenike Tadese, confirmed thugs invasion and disruption in some polling units in Egor LGA.
Source: INEC PRO, The Guardian, BBC News
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @PO GrassRoot shared an election result sheet, claiming rigging in Osholo Primary School polling unit, Etsako East LGA, Edo State.
Findings: The result uploaded to the INEC IREV portal suggests potential rigging. According to the summary, 493 voters were registered, and 213 accredited, yet 406 valid votes were recorded along with one void. These discrepancies indicate possible manipulation at the polling unit.
Source: INEC IREV Portal
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @unlimitedeniola, posted that INEC has moved the declaration of results for the Edo elections to another location while allowing only APC agents access to the location.
Findings: Daily Trust has reported that collation is yet to begin at the INEC head office in Benin, Edo State as at 10:44 am on Sunday despite the promise by Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, to kick off collation by 10am. Similarly, Premium Times reported that INEC moved the commencement of the election collation to 11 am, and not location.
Source: Daily Trust, Premium Times
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, linhsonnel, claims that the APC is leading with 212,442 votes after the collation of governorship election results from 15 out of 18 LGAs in Edo state.
Findings: The tweet was made at 2:13 pm, a few minutes before the 16th LGA’s result was announced. Before the 16th LGA was announced, the total sum of results from 15 out of 18 LGAS stood at APC: 212,442; PDP: 178,471; LP: 11,232. With two more LGAS left, it now stands at: APC: 244,549; PDP: 195,954; LP: 13,348
Source: The Cable Index, INEC
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @emmaikumeh, claimed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won 4 out 5 Local Government Areas in Edo Central which include Esan South-East, Igueben, Esan North East, Esan West and Esan Central LGAS.
Findings: Checks by NFC showed that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won Esan South Rest, Esan North East and Igueben LGAs in Edo Central Senatorial District of the state. However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won both the Esan Central and Ezan WEST LGAS of the state.
Source: Daily Trust, Channels TV
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @hon_sadiq claimed that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) held a press conference and announced Edo election results.
Findings: Checks by the NFC show that the PDP leadership addressed the press in the early hours of Sunday, Sept 22 in Benin city, Edo state. During the press conference, the governor of Adarnawa state Ahmadu Fintiriicoblod .call results reportedly collated by the agents of the party in some Local Government Areas of the state. However, he later clarified that he did not announce results but only informed the public of the exact figures from the party’s agents.
Source: PulseNG, The Cable
Verdict: CORRECT
