A claim that the tenures of FCT Area Council Chairmen and Councillors will be extended is circulating on WhatsApp.
The claim was contained in a broadcast message sent to various contacts in a WhatsApp group.
The WhatsApp post read;
Tenure elongation for FCT Area Council Chairmen and councillors to be affirms. According to the Chairman of Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu said there is no provisions for FCT Area council elections 2025.
4-year tenure will mean that election will be held every 4 years instead of 3 years which mean less money will be spend on elections.. Congratulations to FCT Area council Current Chairmen and councillors…
Wed, April 3rd, 2024.
CLAIM
Tenure elongation for FCT Area Council Chairmen and councillors is to be affirmed.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE!
A quick search online showed that no reputable news agency reported the news as of April 4th, 2024. This search only showed that a related news report was published by a news agency but in 2022, this can be found here, here, and here.
Also, a search on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Website, X handle, and INSTAGRAM handle showed that no such claim was made by the commission. INEC is the body responsible for conducting election.
The FactCheckHub also reached out to the INEC director of Voters Education in the person of Mary Nkem for her comment on the circulated statement.
In her response, she stated “The statement is not from the commission”.
THE VERDICT
The claim that there will be tenure elongation for FCT Area Council Chairmen and councillors is FALSE; INEC said it did not originate from them.
Amala is a tactical Fact-Checker, who is passionate about using Fact-checking to curb the spread of Misinformation and Disinformation which has become prevalent in the media space. She can be reached on X at muonweblessing and LinkedIn on Amala Blessing Muonwe
