- Claims have appeared online saying former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello, said Peter Obi won the 2023 presidential election
- The posters claimed Bello said he helped rig the 2023 election for Tinubu, a longtime political power broker in Nigeria
- A fact-checking platform investigated the claim and shared its findings in a report published recently
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics and elections in Nigeria.
Lokoja, Kogi state – A post on the popular social networking site, Facebook, claims that Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi state, said he helped President Bola Tinubu to rig the 2023 election.
Recall Tinubu was declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election in 2023.
Source: Facebook
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, announced the results on March 1, 2023.
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Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party garnered a total of 8,794,726 votes, defeating his two main rivals: Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 6,984,520 votes; and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who scored 6,101,533 votes.
The Facebook claim about Bello’s alleged statement on Tinubu reads:
“Tinubu is a thief, I helped him rigged the 2023 election, Peter Obi won him with great margin – EFCC has no right to arrest me because the President of Nigeria is not illegal – Yahaya Bello purportedly opens up.”
Statement ascribed to Yahaya Bello not true
Similar posts can be found here and here.
Following the claim, a fact-checking platform, Africa Check, decided to investigate it.
After its scrutiny, the platform said it found no credible media report about Bello making such a statement.
Read more on Yahaya Bello
Lagos-Calabar highway: Obi attacks critics
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Obi ‘strongly denounced the distortion of facts’ surrounding his actions and statements during his tenure as governor of Anambra state.
In a statement, Obi fumed at the interpretation of his comments by some critics concerning the ongoing demolitions for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal super highway.
The LP chieftain asserted that during his time as governor of Anambra state, he “made it abundantly clear” that all structures obstructing existing roads and lacking approval would be removed.
Source: Legit.ng
