AN X user, @uptownoflagos, has made multiple claims about development indices in Anambra State.
The claim was made in a post thread in response to another X user’s comment to the initial post @uptownoflagos made.
The X user @adabanpegede stated that Peter Obi was always looking for cheap popularity hence his failure as a governor in response to the main post that Obi fulfilled a stranger’s desire to attend her wedding.
READ: Was Onitsha’s College of Nursing Sciences executed by Obi-led administration in Anambra State?
In response to @adabanpegede’s comment, the claimant (@uptownoflagos) posted thus on the X platform:
Today his state has: Lowest Out of school children One of the lowest unemployment One of highest industries 6th largest GDP in Nigeria Best Education performance in Nigeria(mostly true/misleading) Highest Child school enrollment nationwide(misleading) One of the best Health system in Nigeria (true) The Joke is on you.
He highlighted the increasing development indices in Anambra State especially when compared to other Nigerian states.
Our fact-checker examines some of the claims in the X post as shown below:
CLAIM 1
Anambra has the lowest out of school children in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE!
According to a data released by The Cable Index on the states with the highest number of out-of-school children aged 6-15 in Nigeria citing NMPI 2022 as its source, it highlighted Kebbi state as the highest with 66.7 per cent and closely followed by Sokoto at 66.4 per cent.
The state that had the lowest number of out-of-school children was Anambra at 2.9 per cent followed closely by Ekiti and Imo at 5.1 per cent respectively.
Using the same data, Nigerian Tribune and other media platforms also reported that Anambra is the state with the lowest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Anambra has the lowest out of school children in Nigeria is TRUE; a 2022 data shows that Anambra State has 2.9 per cent out-of-school children in the country.
CLAIM 2Â
Anambra is one of the states with the lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE!
A 2020 report by Nairametrics stated that as at the second quarter of 2020, Anambra State has the lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Anambra recorded an unemployment rate of 13.1 per cent, which is the lowest in the countryas at then. This is in stark contrast to states like Imo, which has the highest unemployment rate at 48.7 per cent.
However, another report published by Premium Times in March 2021 noted that the Nigerian states with the lowest rates as at the fourth quarter of 2020 were Osun, Benue and Zamfara. They recorded 11.66 per cent, 11.98 per cent and 12.99 per cent respectively; thus, eliminating Anambra from states with the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Anambra is one of the states with the lowest unemployment rate is FALSE; the most recent statistics show that Osun, Benue and Zamfara states had the lowest unemployment rates in Nigeria in the fourth quarter of 2020.
CLAIM 3
Anambra state has the 6th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGSÂ
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE!
A 2024 report by BusinessDay citing BudgIt as its source highlighted the top ten richest states in Nigeria ranked by GDP in 2022. Lagos state ranked first with ₦41.17 trillion GDP followed closely by Rivers state with ₦7.96 trillion GDP.
Anambra state ranked 6th on the list with ₦5.14 trillion by GDP due to growth in trade, manufacturing, and agriculture with notable contributions from sectors like banking, real estate, and education.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Anambra state has the 6th largest GDP in Nigeria is TRUE, according to a 2022 BudgIt data.
CLAIM 4
Best education performance in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGSÂ
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE!
A ranking done and published in November 2023 by THEABUSITE, an online blog owned by The Abusites Media Service with CAC registration number RC: 3508811, ranked Lagos state as the highest in terms of education performance.
Anambra state was ranked number seven on the list of the top ten states with Kaduna state at the tenth position.
The blog claimed it uses the methodology of academic performance, infrastructure, teacher quality, access to education, innovation and technology innovation and government investments to rank the states. The FactCheckHub cannot independently verify the methodologies used.
Also, another 2020 ranking of pupils aged 4-15 done by Kingmakers ranked Anambra State as sixth out of the 36 Nigerian states including the FCT while using adult literacy, educational attainment, education quality and school attendance as its selection criteria.
A similar ranking by another blog, SchoolNews.com.ng, ranked Anambra State as the fifth most educated state in Nigeria. Those leading the ranking include Rivers, Edo, Abia and Imo states.
In addition, a report by Legit.ng in May 2024 shows that a student (Zainab Asake) from Kaduna emerged the overall best student in the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held between April 19 and 29.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Anambra has the best education performance in Nigeria is FALSE; the state, though one of the top states in educational performance, is not ranked the best nationally.
CLAIM 5
Highest child school enrollment in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE!
A 2022 data by Statista show that in the 2018/2019 school year, 22.7 million children in Nigeria were enrolled in public elementary schools with Kano state having the largest number of pupils enrolled in public elementary schools, with over three million, while Katsina state had the second largest number of children attending elementary schools with over one million.
Anambra state had 359,023 number of pupils enrolled in public elementary schools. While 7.4 million students aged 12-14 were enrolled in both private and public junior secondary schools. The data was not grouped according to states.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Anambra state has the highest child school enrollment in Nigeria is FALSE; a 2020 Statista report shows that Kano state has the largest number of pupils enrolled in public elementary schools, with over three million pupils.
CLAIM 6
Anambra state has one of the best health systems in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE!
In 2020, Punch, BusinessDay and other media platforms reported that Anambra state has the most efficient healthcare services in Nigeria, closely followed by Osun, Ogun, Lagos, and Rivers states respectively.
The ranking was done by WellNewMe, a health technology company in Nigeria which used 27 indicators that measured performance in four domains important to policymakers, providers, patients, and the public: care process, access, equity, and healthcare outcomes.
Another report by Premium Times in July 2022 shows that in terms of primary healthcare services delivery, Anambra is one of the top performing states with FCT and Enugu setting the pace.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Anambra state has one of the best health systems in Nigeria is TRUE, according to studies by both the WellNewMe and ONE campaign which were widely reported by multiple media platforms in the country.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
