A VIRAL flyer shared on social media attributes a statement to Nigeria’s senate president Godswill Akpabio, alleging that he threatened that northerners would suffer if President Bola Tinubu loses the 2027 presidential election.
Akpabio was elected president of the Nigerian senate in June 2023.
The text on the flyer reads:
“We will make sure Northerners suffer from January to May if Tinubu loses the election.”
The claim was made by a verified X user @dangbanamanager, with the caption:
“Is this not a threat against the northerns ? Tinubu needs to call Akpabio to order. But he won’t because of desperation”
As of September 2026, the post has garnered over 348,000 views, 6,000 likes and more than 3,000 retweets, with several users treating the purported statement as authentic.
Different versions of the flyer also surfaced on Facebook and shared widely on WhatsApp.
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CLAIM
Flyer shows Senate President Godswill Akpabio claiming that Northerners will be made to suffer if President Tinubu loses the election.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
The FactCheckHub conducted a verification analysis of the visual material. An examination of the flyer shows that it carries no logo, insignia, publication name or other attribution linking it to any credible news organisation or official source.
Keyword searches across national media archives and official National Assembly channels returned no record, audio, video, or report of Senate President Akpabio making such a statement. Given the position of the Senate President, any public or political statement of this nature would have been widely covered by news outlets.
Ultimately, when contacted by The FactCheckHub, Eseme Eyiboh, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Office of the Senate President, refuted the claim in the graphic and shared an official statement issued by the Senate President’s office, titled “A Desperate and Dangerous Lie: Produce the Evidence or Withdraw It.” The statement was also published on Vanguard.
Eyiboh described the claim as a complete fabrication, stating that there is no video, audio recording, speech, interview, press release, transcript, or credible news report where Akpabio uttered such remarks. Describing the flyer as “an allegation wearing typography,” Eyiboh challenged those circulating the post to produce the original, unedited recording specifying the date, venue, and occasion.
READ ALSO: Old video of Borno military attack falsely shared as recent killing of Christians
VERDICT
The claim that senate president Godswill Akpabio stated northerners would be made to suffer if President Bola Tinubu loses the election is FALSE. The flyer lacks media attribution, no credible news outlet reported the claim, and his media office confirmed the quote is entirely fabricated.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
