THE 2026 Osun Governorship Election has come to a close, but the story is far from over. This LIVE update brings you the latest developments.
Our team of journalists, researchers, fact-checkers, social media monitors, editors, and OSINT experts are on ground at the Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition’s (NFC) Election Situation Rooms to debunk election-related misinformation and disinformation content.
Do you have an election-related claim you want us to fact-check?
Share with the NFC via WhatsApp here.
This page is constantly being updated with verified checks. Kindly scroll downward to read them.
CLAIM 1
CLAIM: An X user posted a video (archived here) claiming it shows the reaction of the Accord Party’s Governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke, after hearing he won.
FINDINGS: The Nigerian Fact-Checking Coalition subjected keyframes of the video to Google Reverse Image Search, and the results show that the video is not recent. Premium Times and Nigerian Tribune posted an earlier version of the video in 2022. The video shows the moment Adeleke was declared the winner of the 2022 Osun Governorship election.
VERDICT: Misleading
SOURCE: Premium Times and Nigerian Tribune
DATE: 16/08/2026
AUTHOR: Nurudeen Akewushola
EDITOR(S): Lois Ugbede & Simbiat Bakare
CLAIM 2
An X user @KafinHausaa shared a photo (archived here) with a claim former Kano State Governor and ex-APC national chairperson Abdullahi Ganduje arrived in Osun State during result collation.
FINDINGS
The Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) traced the image to a 30 March 2023 blog post about Ganduje’s first return to Kano after APC won the state’s governorship election in the same year. The report published the same image alongside two others from his arrival.
A reverse image search also found the photo in a March 30, 2023 Facebook post by Arewa Radio, captioned in Hausa, “Gwamnan Jihar Kano Dakta Abdullahi Umar Ganduje ya dawo Jihar Kano a darennan,” meaning “Kano State Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje returned to Kano state tonight”. The image predates the August 15, 2026 Osun governorship election and does not show Ganduje arriving in Osun State.
VERDICT: Misleading
SOURCE: Binhausa News and Arewa Radio(Facebook post)
DATE: 16/08/2026
AUTHOR: Catherine Adeniyi
EDITORS: Lois Ugbede & Bamas Victoria
APPROVED
CLAIM 3
A TikTok user (sanuswzi149) posted a video of an INEC returning officer announcing the election of Ademola Adeleke as governor of Osun State.
FINDINGS
The Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) conducted a Google Lens reverse image search and found that the video is from the 2022 Osun State governorship election. The then state collation officer, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced the result. Using keyword search, we found that the 2026 result was announced by Professor Joshua Ogunwole.
Although Adeleke won the 2026 election, the video is from 2022.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
SOURCE: Google Lens and Channels Television
DATE: 16/08/2026
AUTHOR: Muktar Balogun
EDITORS: Lois Ugbede & Simbiat Bakare
