Multiple Facebook posts are claiming that the president of the African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, has endorsed Bola Tinubu, one of over a dozen politicians in Nigeria seeking to succeed president Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
The messages, published in April 2022, claim Adesina said: “If senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu could make Lagos state the largest 5th economy in Africa and the safest state in Nigeria, then be sure what he will do as Nigerian president.”
Tinubu was the governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007 and has remained an influential politician in the state and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
After a meeting with Buhari on 10 January 2022, Tinubu declared his intention to run for president in the 2023 general election.
But has Adesina, who was Nigeria’s agriculture minister from 2011 to 2015, tipped Tinubu for president?
Claim debunked by Adesina’s office
The claim first circulated online in January 2022, just after Tinubu’s announcement that he was running for president.
Adesina refuted the claim then.
The Guardian newspaper reported on 12 January 2022 that Adesina’s senior advisor for communication, Victor Oladokun, had said the claims were “untrue, mischievous and fraudulent”.
Oladokun said Adesina had not endorsed anyone.
However, Tinubu’s supporters have continued to circulate the claim on Facebook. It is false.
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment