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Edo Election: FALSE image circulates online that Oshiomhole voted for PDP

Niyi Oyedeji
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Edo Election: FALSE image circulates online that Oshiomhole voted for PDP

A viral post on social media claimed that a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, voted for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Edo gubernatorial election held on September 19, 2020.

The post with a picture showing Oshiomhole holding the ballot paper thumb printed for the PDP has been shared severally on Twitter and WhatsApp groups.

PDP Vanguard shared the picture on Twitter with the caption:  “LOL! Even Oshiomhole is voting for @GovernorObaseki!”

The same picture has been posted by several other Twitter accounts and carried by several blogs and forums.

Oshiomhole voting for the PDP allegedly at the election would mean he voted for Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent governor of the state, who is running for a second term.

The duo have been in the news for being at loggerhead.

 

THE CLAIM:

That an image shows a former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole voting for the PDP in the 2020 Edo Governorship election.

The manipulated image being circulated online.

 

THE FINDINGS:

The FactCheckHub findings revealed that the picture depicting Oshiomhole voting PDP has been manipulated.

A Google Reverse Image search shows the same image posted by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, @ptcij.  The image was showing the back of the ballot paper unlike the front as shown in the viral image. Thus, the party he voted for cannot be seen.

The original picture of Adams Oshiomhole dropping his ballot in the box.

In addition, a video of the same event posted by a Twitter account, APCYF South West also showed that the viral image was manipulated. In the video, it was the back of the ballot paper that was shown.

THE VERDICT: 

The claim that a former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, voted for the PDP in the 2020 Edo Governorship election is FALSE. The image was manipulated.

Viral WhatsApp message on withdrawal of APC Edo governorship candidate is FALSE

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Viral WhatsApp message on withdrawal of APC Edo governorship candidate is FALSE

A WhatsApp message surfaced online less than 24 hours to the Edo state governorship election that  Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the poll has withdrawn from the race.

Edo, a state in Southern Nigeria holds its gubernatorial election on September 19, 2020 (today).

The message which was styled as a press release was titled “APC Withdrawal from Edo Election”

It reads: “Deeply distressing development says the Spokesperson, expressing strong support for the withdrawal of Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu from participating in Edo2020 Election”.

 

While adding that the Ize-Iyamu would not be participating in the election.

The message has been shared severally across different WhatsApp groups.

 

THE CLAIM:

That the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu withdrew from Edo governorship election race.

A screenshot of the claim from a WhatsApp group

THE FINDINGS:

The FactCheckHub checked the final list released by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to verify if the party and its candidate have been removed from the contest as claimed in the viral message but the name of the APC candidate was present.

Osagie Andrew Ize-Iyamu (58)  is number 7 on the list.

The name of his deputy, Abudu Ganiyu Audu (50) was also  in the INEC list. He was listed number 8 in the document signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, Secretary to the electoral commission.

Unlike what is obtainable in the Nigerian media industry, the press statement was not signed by anyone.

Moreover, no such information was shared by official channels of the APC and the INEC.

Reports also affirmed Ize-Iyamu  voted at Ugboko Ward 4, Unit 26, Orhionmwon Local Government Area (LGA) of the state at about 9:25am on September 19, 2020.

In addition, Ize-Iyamu told the press that he is confident of winning after casting his vote on Saturday.

Earlier, the FactCheckHub fact-checked  misleading images circulating online in relation to the Edo election.

 

THE VERDICT: 

The  claim that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu withdrew from Edo governorship election race is FALSE.

Ize-Iyamu spoke to the press after casting his vote, saying that he is confident of winning.

Edo Election: Misleading images flood the internet

Bamas Victoria
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Edo Election: Misleading images flood the internet

Edo, a state in Southern Nigeria is set to hold its gubernatorial election on September 19, 2020. As the election holds on Saturday, misleading images flood the internet.

One of such images has the logo of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) displayed at a prominent position while showing the picture of a candidate and his deputy.

It also showed the data that unemployment rate in Edo has dropped from 25.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 to 19 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.

The image also have unemployment rate for other South-South states.

 

THE CLAIM:

That the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) designed the infograph with a political party logo showing the unemployment rate for Edo state for the third quarter of 2018 and second quarter of 2019.

 

THE FINDINGS:

Edo state is one of the states that hold off-season elections in the country. The Gubernatorial election in the state does not follow the timetable for the country’s general election.

One of the front-line contenders among the candidates for the Edo 2020 election is Godwin Obaseki, a former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is also the incumbent governor of the state. He is now the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the election. Obaseki became governor in 2016 through the APC platform.

The other contender is Osagie Ize-Iyamu who is the candidate of the APC.  He was the candidate for the PDP in the Edo 2016 election.

The NBS is the national body saddled with the responsibility of coordinating, researching and producing official statistics for Nigeria. In carrying out its duty, it is expected to be non-partisan. Therefore, having the PDP logo on an infograph being circulated days to an election in Edo state was a red flag.

Another red flag is the incomplete data on the poster; as the South-South  states’ unemployment rates were stated without specifying the year and the quarter.

Furthermore, when The FactCheckHub contacted the NBS information desk, they said the infograph did not emanate from them.

“We cannot do a poster like this,” says Sunday J. Ichedi, the Head, Public Affairs & International Relations Unit of the NBS in a phone interview.

Also, in response to the image sent to his WhatsApp, Ichedi said “The correct thing should  have been source: National Bureau of Statistics. Though the data [Edo unemployment rate] is correct but the design is not from NBS”.

Similarly, a different misleading image in relation to the Edo election also went viral following the Edo election debate which took place on Sunday, September 13, 2020.  The image shows the result of a poll and attributed it, in similar fashion with the aforemention, to Channels Television.

Although Channels TV did run a poll on “Who won Sunday’s Edo Governorship Debate?”  between Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu, the infograph attributed to them was in circulation even before TV’s online poll had closed.

In addition, the results were different from the authentic Channels TV’s polls showing 67.58 percent to 32.42 percent in favour of Obaseki as against the 76.3 percent to 23.7 percent still in favour of Obaseki that was attributed to them.

In response to this, the TV station via it Twitter issued  a disclaimer  which reads “Channels Television has no link with these graphics and the content contained in them. To vote in the Channels TV poll which went up after today’s debate and will run till tomorrow”.

One of the misleading images Channels Television issued disclaimer on

A multimedia journalist and social media strategist, Alade Abiodun, told the FactCheckHub that elections bring about the proliferation of misinformation.

He said misleading images are in circulation because “It is the season of election.”

Alade explained that “Politicians, their supporters and apologists will want to woo voters by selling their preferred candidates, not minding if they make use of misleading information to achieve this”.

He further stated that “Some are deliberate, others are done out of mischief with the sole aim of scoring political gains.”

 

THE VERDICT:

Although the unemployment rate in Edo’s third quarter in 2018 is 25.1 per cent and second quarter of 2019 is  19 per cent, the infograph did not emanate from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS); therefore, attributing the claim to the institution is MISLEADING.

Claim that warm water is effective in curing epilepsy, others is FALSE

FactCheckHub
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Claim that warm water is effective in curing epilepsy, others is FALSE

By Olayinka SHEHU.

A VIRAL post on WhatsApp retrieved on August 16 claims that drinking warm water ‘will resolve’ many health conditions, including epilepsy and high blood pressure.

The claim read thus: “a group of Japanese doctors confirmed that warm water is 100 percent effective in resolving some health problems such as epilepsy, high blood pressure, migraine, pains of joint, asthma and others.”

According to the claim, epilepsy and paralysis could be resolved in nine months, while diabetes and high blood pressure could be resolved in 30 days with two glasses of warm water daily.

“Get up early in the morning and drink approximately 2 glasses of warm water when the stomach is empty. You may not be able to make 2 glasses at the beginning, but slowly you will. Do not eat anything for 45mins after taking the water,”  the message on the pamphlet shared on WhatsApp reads.

The pamphlet also claimed that drinking cold water is “bad for you”. ‘If cold water does not affect you at a young age. It will harm you at old age.

It further claims that cold water closes four veins of the heart and causes the attack.

Cold drinks are the main cause of heart attack. It also creates problems in the liver. It makes fat stuck with the liver. Most people waiting for liver transplant are victims of cold water drinking.

Cold water affects the internal walls of the stomach. It affects the large intestine and results in cancer.

The claim on the pamphlet was said to be from Dr. D. Mensah-Asare.

FINDINGS

The ICIR found that the claim about warm water as a cure for several diseases has been available since 2017 and has been shared widely on social media and blogs.

Dr. Richard FRU, a Cameroon-based naturopathic doctor and researcher also posted the claim on Facebook on the 9th of July, 2017.

Yuppy’s Inspector Facebook Post

Also, a Facebook user Yuppy’s Inspector shared it on the 25th of January 2017 generating 85 comments and 110 shares.

The ICIR also found that the message attributed to a group of Japanese Doctors’ or ‘Dr. D. Mensah Asare is shared on Pinterest, Twitter, Nairaland and Reddit.

Daily Times, a Nigerian based Newspaper was also discovered to have run a report with the title “Cold Water and Your Health: Doctors reveal health benefits of warm or cold water”, that included Dr. D. Mensah-Asare claim about the benefit of warm water.

They attributed the source of the report to “message trending on Whatsapp”.

A message to the Editor of Daily Times, Omokioja Julius Eto about the report was not responded to after nine days.

Multiple searches by The ICIR to discover the identity of Dr. D. Mensah-Asare, the doctor to whom the claim was attributed to or any hospital with the name through a google search proved abortive.

A blog post by scurrimania.blogspot.com used an image that The ICIR through a google search discovered to be of a Ghanian Businessman, Asare Akuffo, the former Managing Director of HFC Bank.

Scurrimania 2017 Post

Dr. Opeyemi Adeyemi, a medical practitioner at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu, Ogun State in an interview with The ICIR said warm water has benefits but doesn’t cure any ailment.

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She said though warm water has health benefits, but saying that it cures an ailment, like a disease that is where it is wrong.

“Warm water has benefits but doesn’t cure an ailment. Once somebody has been diagnosed with an ailment, warm water is not going to have any effect or say curing the disease”, she said.

Also, Dr. Femi Ajose of the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching University Hospital, Shagamu (OOUTH) in an interview with The ICIR said the claim in the pamphlet is a palpable display of folly.

He said, “this is a palpable display of folly! How will just one remedy be a panacea to various ailments? This is highly non-scientific and hence doesn’t hold water, at all. These are just some Myths they sell to people to collect their hard-earned money.”

“This is not to rule out what warm water does, but it hasn’t been proven to be a treatment alternative for any of the above listed.”

“There’s another one they call cellegivity. It’s an antioxidant. Which of course is a good one. But people marketing it went as far as saying it cures Diabetes and Hypertension. They convinced people to stop their routine medications for cellegivity and that caused more harm than good.”

“Anything NOT scientifically proven is HERBAL (alternative) Medicine.”

VERDICT: Based on the above findings, the claim that warm water is 100 percent effective in resolving some health problems is FALSE as The ICIR couldn’t find any medical records to support the claim.

Can walking barefoot increase the size of a man’s genital?

Opeyemi Kehinde
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Can walking barefoot increase the size of a man’s genital?

A viral blog post claims that walking barefoot may increase the size of a man’s genital.

The report, published on June 3, 2020 on Globalnea.com, has been shared severally on social media including Facebook, Twitter and many WhatsApp groups.

It has also been reposted by a number of other blogs from Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria etc, including ihlayanews.com, GbetuTV.com, Gistvic.com, Naijapledge.com, Spyuganda.com, naijanewspapers.com.ng and Hypercitigh.com, among others.

THE CLAIM:

That walking barefoot can increase the size of a man’s genital.

THE FINDINGS:

The report which started with a question “Did you know that simply taking your time to walk barefooted can significantly increase the size of your p***s (man’s genital)?” did not provide any verifiable medical and scientific sources for the information it presented.

It, however, made vague attributions to “Canadian researchers who spent two years in the Democratic Republic of Congo trying to bust the myth of natural p***s (man’s genital) enlargement went back home with newfound length and girth”.

The report went on to categorically state that  “Yes, walking on the natural ground with your bare feet for thirty minutes a day would give you one inch per year ballpark.”

Findings by the FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is not supported by any medical or well-studied scientific research.

Contrary to the blog’s claim, the parents’ genes play significant roles in the formation of a person’s male member since it is genetic, Adrienne Santos-Longhurst wrote in an article published by healthline.com.

 

“People assigned male at birth (AMAB) inherit the Y chromosome from a parent who was born with a p***s (man’s genital), just like people assigned female at birth (AFAB) inherit the X chromosome from a parent who was born with a vulva,” she said.

She added that “Hormones play a role in your p***s (man’s genital) size from the start. Androgens determine p***s (man’s genital) size during early foetal development. Throughout puberty, testosterone and growth hormone regulate p***s (man’s genital) growth, including length and girth.”

A study also finds the average growth rate of the male genitalia to be less than half an inch per year from ages 11 to 15, adding that they do the most growing during puberty, but puberty and p***s (man’s genital) growth happen at different times and speeds for everyone.

“Typically, your dong’s as long as it’s going to get by the age of 18 or 19, and it reaches maximum girthy-ness shortly thereafter.

“For some, the p***s (man’s genital) can stop growing a year or two later than that, depending on when puberty starts. For reference, puberty usually begins between the ages of 9 and 14 and lasts up to 5 years or so,” Santos-Longhurst said, adding that there’s nothing a man can do to make his genital grow bigger or smaller, aside from surgery.

Similarly, Jerry Kennard, PhD, a psychologist and associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, in an article warned that men should be wary of exercises claiming to increase penis size.

“Because there are no muscles involved, there are no exercises able to build either the p***s’ (man’s genital) girth or length,” Dr. Kennard wrote on a medical blog.

He also corroborated Santos-Longhurst’s view, noting that: “P***s (man’s genital) growth is influenced by the hormones of puberty. As such, the p***s (man’s genital) begins to grow more rapidly than usual between ages 10 and 14 and can continue to grow until ages 16 to 21.”

“Many young men become concerned or self-conscious about p***s (man’s genital) size during adolescence, but the vast majority reach a completely normal p***s (man’s genital) size by the late teen years,” Dr, Kennard noted.

In a telephone chat with the FactCheckHub, Dr. Obi Okechukwu (MBBS ABUAD), a Medical Officer at the Chiver Specialist Hospital & Urology Centre, Abuja in Nigeria said the claim should be disregarded.

“I think that’s built on ignorance and it should be disregarded. I’ve never seen that in any textbook or any journal. The size of p***s (man’s genital) is determined by several things but definitely not walking barefooted. One of them is race and genetics; and the size of a father’s p***s (man’s genital) will affect the size of the child’s own.

“Then, there are some other things like the maternal estrogen level; for instance, if the child is exposed to excessive estrogene level, it may shrink the size of his p***s (man’s genital) and caused reduced differentiation. So, if a male child is exposed to excessive estrogene level, the p***s (man’s genital) might not develop as it should,” Dr. Okechukwu said.

Also speaking with the FactCheckHub, Dr. Bolaji Ahmed, a Medical Advisor with the Damien Foundation, Nigeria, opined that the claim is untrue.

“Not true. There is no correlation between walking on bare feet and the size of the p***s (man’s genital). There is no known study at the moment that states that walking on bare feet will increase the size of the p***s (man’s genital),” he said.

THE VERDICT:

From all information available, the claim that walking barefoot can increase the size of a man’s genital is FALSE.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The word p***s has been replaced with man’s genital all through the report; whereas, wherever it appeared in a quote, its three middle letters have been replaced with *asterisks to comply with Google’s standard.

Claim that Nigeria ranked 3rd on Global Terrorism Index 2020 is MISLEADING

Niyi Oyedeji
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Claim that Nigeria ranked 3rd on Global Terrorism Index 2020 is MISLEADING

ON September 10,2020, a report by a television news station – Television Continental Nigeria (TVC News Nigeria) –  claimed that Nigeria has emerged the third most terrorised country in the world.

This claim which has been republished by several blogs including hallmarknews and Salonedaily  has also  gone viral on social media.

A screenshot of the infograph used by the TVC to present the report has been tweeted by several Twitter influencers  including PDPVanguard, Charles the 1st,  Chidi Odinkalu. and  Ayemojubar – these Twitter handles have large followings on the social media platform.

For instance, the tweet by Ayemojubar has garnered over 6,600 likes, 3,900 retweets and 648 comments as at 2:30PM on September 15, 2020.

 

THE CLAIM

That Nigeria ranked third as the most terrorised country in the world in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index.

 

 

THE FINDINGS:

The FactCheckHub verified that the claim emanated  from a  TVC programme tagged Journalists Hangout which is anchored by Ayodele Ozugbakun.  The episode where the claim was made was published on the TVC’s YouTube channel on September 10, 2020 with the headline “Nigeria emerges most terrorised country in Africa, ranks worse than Syria, Yemen, Somalia”.

The episode focused on discussing the index as a 2020 ranking.

The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a ranking report published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). It was developed by IT entrepreneur and IEP’s founder, Steve Killelea. The index is often used to systematically rank the nations of the world, according to terrorist activities.  It has been in existence since the year 2000.

The GTI ranks based on data gotten from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).

Checks by The FactCheckHub shows that the GTI is released in November annually, and the most recent index is still the one released  in November, 2019, while no data has been released for the year 2020.

A screenshot of the 2019 Global Terrorism Index

Similarly, The FactCheckHub reached out to the Institute – IEP-  to confirm if the 2020 Global Terrorism Index has been released. The insititute, on September 15, 2020,  in response to the enquiry stated that the 2020 global terrorism index is yet to be released.

“The Global Terrorism Index 2020 will be released in November 2020 on a date still to be confirmed,” the mail reads.

A screenshot of the 2018 Global Terrorism Index.

A look at the previous records shows that Nigeria ranked 3rd in the 2018 and 2019  but the data for the 2020 as put forward by TVC has not been released, thereby making the claim MISLEADING.

 

THE VERDICT:

Based on information presented above, the claim that Nigeria ranked third as the most terrorised country in the world in the 2020 Global Terrorism Index is MISLEADING.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is the number of worldwide coronavirus deaths over 900,000?

Niyi Oyedeji
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Is the number of worldwide coronavirus deaths over 900,000?

Aith the name War Desk . The page has over nine thousand  (9,740)  likes as at September 9, 2020 when the claim was made. social media post claims that the number of worldwide coronavirus deaths has surpassed 900,000.

The post was retrieved from a Facebook page w

The post reads: “BREAKING: Number of worldwide coronavirus deaths pass 900,000”.

 

THE CLAIM:

That the number of worldwide coronavirus deaths has passed 900,000 as at September 9, 2020.

 

THE FINDINGS: 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the first human cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, subsequently named SARS-CoV-2 were first reported by officials in Wuhan City, China, in December 2019.

Since the outbreak of this pandemic, the coronavirus has spread to several countries of the world with the current confirmed cases standing at over 27 million (27,417,497) as at September 9.

The FactCheckHub checked the WHO website for the official statistics of the current number of worldwide coronavirus deaths. From the WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard, it was stated that total number of worldwide coronavirus deaths is 894,241 across 216 countries, areas or territories with cases. The WHO data is as at September 9, 2020.

A screenshot of WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) dashboard

Similarly, The FactCheckHub checked to see if there is any media report backing the claim but found none.

The only major figure of worldwide coronavirus deaths reported was when the death toll climbed to 800,000 on August 22, and was reported by several major news organizations like  Aljazeera, Washington post and The New York Times.

 

THE VERDICT:

Based on the checks above the claim that the number of worldwide coronavirus deaths has passed 900,000 as at September 9, 2020 is FALSE.

 

 

 

Report that Nigeria plans to power 5 million homes with N2.3 trillion is MISLEADING

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Report that Nigeria plans to power 5 million homes with N2.3 trillion is MISLEADING

THE Vanguard newspaper, one of Nigeria’s national dailies had on September 3, reported that the Nigerian Government  has concluded arrangements to expend N2.3 trillion on electrification of rural communities, targeting five million homes, under the Economic Sustainability Plan, ESP.

The report has the headline “Rural electrification: FG earmarks N2.3tn for 5m homes”. A similar version of the article was reported two days earlier by the newspaper with the headline “FG to electrify rural communities with N2.3trn under ESP”.

This assertion was repeated in the lead – first paragraph – of both reports and was attributed to Goddy Jedy-Agba, the Minister of State for Power.

He was said to have allegedly made the assertion in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital at the inauguration of a 12 KiloWatts Peak (KWP) Volsus Solar for Health (VSFH) Mini-grid, alongside a 58 KWH Battery Bank at Karu Primary Health Centre.

Since the report was published by the newspaper, it has been shared and reported by several online publications.

Breaking.com, latestnigeriannews.com also reported the story, both crediting Vanguard newspaper, except newswirenigeria.com which did an independent report.

More so, Vanguard newspaper, with over 2.6 million followers on its verified social media account further tweeted the article.

 

THE CLAIM

That Nigeria will spend N2.3 trillion from the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) to power 5 million homes.

Published report by the Vanguard newspaper on FG’s plan to power 5 million homes with N2.3 trillion

 

THE FINDINGS

Nigeria’s Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) was introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration at the wake of the Coronavirus  (COVID-19) pandemic.

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was appointed Chairman of the committee and part of their responsibilities was to see how the nation’s economy could survive through the pandemic, convert the threats posed by the disease to opportunities and create more jobs.

“We must communicate to our people where we are now, and that we can no longer assume we are still where we used to be,” Osinbajo stated on April 2, at the inaugural meeting of the committee.

“We are faced with a challenge that no government in the history of Nigeria has ever faced. So, we have to redesign our economic planning and change our thinking.”

A page from the Economic Sustainability Plan, ESP document showing the total budget for the ESP to be N2.3 trillion.

On June 11, the vice president submitted a 76-page Economic Sustainability Plan produced by the committee. It was titled: “Bouncing Back: Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan.”

In June, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) eventually approved the N2.3 trillion stimulus plan for the entire economy, but not just for one project as claimed by the Vanguard newspaper report.

The ESP which can be found on the country’s Budget office website gives the total budget  to be N2.3 trillion. The document further detailed how the sum would be expended on different project across different  sector of the economy. Solar power energy targeting five million homes is one of such projects.

A part of the document reads: “Given our limited fiscal space and the scale of our economic challenge, the Federal Government has opted for the stimulus package of N2.3tn. It will obtain the resources for the stimulus from Special Accounts – N500bn; CBN structured lending – N1.11bn; as well as portions of the resources to be obtained from external bilateral/multilateral sources – N334bn and other funding sources –N302.9bn.”

A page from the Economic Sustainability Plan, ESP document showing the total budget for the Solar power strategy for five million households to be N240 billion.

 

From the ESP it can be seen that N240 billion  was budgeted to provide solar power to 5 million households by 2023, not N2.3 trillion as reported.

In addition, the FactCheckHub got a copy of the Minister’s speech read at the solar power project commissioning, dated September 1, 2020, where he reiterated government’s plan to utilise part of the N2.3 trillion fund for the solar home system project.

The minister said: “To emphasise the focus government is giving to electrifying rural communities, there are plans under the 2.3 trillion-Naira fund for the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) being coordinated by the Office of the Vice President, to provide Solar Home Systems (SHS) to five million homes across un-served rural communities in Nigeria”.

Incidentally, this same quote was included in the sixth paragraph of the Vanguard’s report.

The minister clearly stated that the SHS is part of the 2.3 trillion ESP project and not that the government earmarked N2.3 trillion as  reported.

 

THE VERDICT: 

  • From the information presented above, the report by the Vanguard newspaper that Nigeria will spend N2.3 trillion from the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) to power 5 million homes is MISLEADING. N2.3 trillion is the total budget for the ESP while N240 billion is the budget to power 5 million homes.

FALSE claim circulates online that NUPENG will shut down all fuel stations in Nigeria

Bamas Victoria
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0
FALSE claim circulates online that NUPENG will shut down all fuel stations in Nigeria

Multiple Twitter and WhatsApp posts shared numerous times between September 5 and 6, 2020, claim that the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) will be shutting down fuel stations starting from Monday, September 7 across the country.

It added that other unions including shops will join in the mass protest against the government.

It went on to ask the public to “take note and stock up on fuel and other essentials”.

The post which  flooded WhatsApp groups was also tweeted by Nigerian singer and activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as ‘Charley boy’ or ‘Area Fada’.

Charley boy in the past had led several protests and rallies under the ‘Our mumu don do’ platform.

Nigerian actress, Kate Henshaw,  also tweeted  the same post; she, however, was seeking confirmation if the post was accurate.

 

THE CLAIM:

That NUPENG will shut down all fuel stations starting from Monday.

 

THE FINDINGS:

This claim is coming on the heels of the increase in pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol or ‘fuel’. The  Nigerian Government had announced the price increase  from N149 per litre to N151.56. But media reports however indicated that it is selling for as high as N161 at some fuel stations.  The government made the announcement on Wednesday, September 2 but by Saturday (September 5), the claim on NUPENG’s planned action has flooded the social media.

The claim did not specify where the action will take place,  but the use of “all fuel stations” connotes the whole country.

The FactCheckHub reached out to NUPENG on the viral post and the union’s Principal Assistant General Secretary for Public Affairs, Adamson Momoh, debunked the authenticity of the claim.

He said: “It is fake news.”

“We only have an action in Rivers state starting from Monday. And Rivers is just one state out of  the 36 states, so it is fake news,” Momoh said in a phone interview with the FactCheckHub.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and several of its affiliate associations and unions –  of which NUPENG is part of –  have a planned  action slated to hold on Monday, September 7, 2020 in Rivers state, according to media report.

The action is directed at Rivers state government. The unions  would visit Port-Harcourt, the state capital to protest against alleged clampdown on labour activities by the Governor, Nyesom Wike, the Guardian newspaper also reports.

In addition, the President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba  listed non-payment of outstanding salary arrears as part of the reasons for the proposed action.

 

THE VERDICT:

From the information presented above, the claim that NUPENG will be shutting down all fuel stations starting from Monday is FALSE.

 

 

 

 

 

FALSE claim circulates online that N-Power has shortlisted names for its 2020 programme

Niyi Oyedeji
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FALSE claim circulates online that N-Power has shortlisted names for its 2020 programme

A post has been shared repeatedly on social media claiming that the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHDS) in Nigeria has shortlisted candidates for its 2020 N-Power programme.

The post retrieved from a WhatsApp group on 3 September 2020 directed people to check for their names via a link.

The post reads: “Npower 2020 has shortlisted for its second stage. Check if you are included or forward to your loved ones who applied.”

THE CLAIM

That N-power has shortlisted names for its 2020 programme and that people can check via a particular link.

A screenshot of the claim as shared on WhatsApp.

THE FINDINGS:

The N-Power is a scheme set up by the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, meant to address the issues of youth unemployment. It was created as a component of the National Social Investment Programme.

In a bid to verify the claim, The FactCheckHub  observed that the website in the post is different from the website created for the programme by the FMHDS.

A close look at the website shows that it is a duplicate site trying to clone the original website. While the original website address  is https://npower.fmhds.gov.ng, the fake website changed the dots after ‘Npower’ and after ‘fmhds’ to hyphens.

The FactCheckHub also reached out to the FMHDS to confirm if a shortlist for the N-Power programme is out as asserted.

Halima Oyelade, a Special Assistant on Media to the Humanitarian minister noted that the claim in circulation is false and that the ministry is yet to shortlist people for the N-power programme.

”This is not true,” she replied The FactCheckHub‘s enquiry via a text message.

Similarly, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, in a report by Guardian Newspaper  noted that the selection process is still ongoing.

She said “We have also received over 5 million applications from proposed N-Power Batch C and we are currently in the process of selecting the qualified beneficiaries coming into the programme”.

“I assure all the applicants and Nigerians that the selection process will be transparent.”

The minister spoke on 3 September 2020 in Abuja during an interaction with National Social Investment Program (NSIP) Focal Persons, Programme Managers and State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU) officers from all states of the country.

The N-Power programme falls under the purview of Farouq’s portfolio.

THE VERDICT:

Based on the information presented above, the claim that N-power has shortlisted names for its 2020 programme is FALSE.

 

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