A claim that the Nigerian-Irish politician, Yemi Adenuga, who was nominated in Fine Gael Meath West area to contest in the Irish general election has won the seat has surfaced online.
The claim is going viral online following the recent announcement of her nomination on X which stirred backlash and disapproval from some Irish citizens and some Nigerians who accused her of supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
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An X user, @visserlola posted the claim online with a caption that read:
I have just received this message from Ireland. “Good evening, ma. She eventually won the election”. Case closed. God is bigger than any individual @Omojuwa”
The post has garnered over 370,000 views with more than 300 reposts and over 700 likes as of September 12, 2024.
Another X user, @dipoaina1, also posted the claim with another caption thus:
“Congratulations to Yemi Adenuga @SharingWithYemi For winning her election for Meath County Council to become Ireland’s first-ever elected black female representative.”
The post has generated over 230,000 views and more than 500 reposts with over 2,000 likes as of September 12, 2024.
CLAIM
Nigerian-Irish politician, Yemi Adenuga, has emerged winner in the Irish general election.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the misinformation emerged through the information posted by Fine Gael, a centrist political party in Ireland which described Yemi as the “Ireland’s first-ever elected Black Female public representative and Meath County Council’s first migrant councillor”.
But checks by The FactCheckHub showed that she has held the position before her recent declaration to recontest in the forthcoming polls.
She had run in the local elections of May 2019 and emerged as a Fine Gael councillor, representing Navan Municipal District. She was later appointed as a Peace Commissioner in County Meath Ireland by the nation’s Minister of Justice and Equality in June 2020.
The FactCheckHub has verified that the Irish general election, where Ms. Adenuga is recontesting, has not been held yet. There is also no specific date for the election, though it is expected to hold before March 2025.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Yemi Nigerian-Irish politician, Yemi Adenuga has emerged winner in the Irish general election is FALSE; the election is yet to hold as of today, September 12, 2024.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.