A story shared on Facebook claims Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission is thinking of cancelling Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election because it is “no longer sure of Buhari’s 15 million votes”.
The article was published on Exclusive 103. The story appeared on the fan page of Atiku Abubakar on 8 March 2019.
Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, lost to President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress in national elections held on 23 February.
INEC’s election results show Abubakar received 11.26 million votes, while Buhari was re-elected with 15.19 million votes.
“BREAKING: INEC No Longer Sure Of Buhari’s 15 Million Votes, May Cancel The 2019 Presidential Election,” the article’s headline reads.
The post has been shared on Facebook over 340 times so far, and has about 30 comments.
In the article, Exclusive103.com claims the election results have not been published on INEC’s website and aren’t available at its state offices.
It quotes INEC’s director of voter education and publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, as saying the electoral body is “still authenticating the results from the states”.
But Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chair, dismissed the report.
“It’s fake news. INEC is not reconsidering the 2019 presidential election,” he told Africa Check.
“The presidential election result has been published on our website. If anybody is talking about authentication of result, it must be when the collation was still ongoing. We have announced the presidential election results and we are sure of the results announced.” – Allwell Okpi (14/03/2019)
The article was published on Exclusive 103. The story appeared on the fan page of Atiku Abubakar on 8 March 2019.
Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, lost to President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress in national elections held on 23 February.
INEC’s election results show Abubakar received 11.26 million votes, while Buhari was re-elected with 15.19 million votes.
“BREAKING: INEC No Longer Sure Of Buhari’s 15 Million Votes, May Cancel The 2019 Presidential Election,” the article’s headline reads.
‘We are sure of the results’ – INEC
The post has been shared on Facebook over 340 times so far, and has about 30 comments.
In the article, Exclusive103.com claims the election results have not been published on INEC’s website and aren’t available at its state offices.
It quotes INEC’s director of voter education and publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, as saying the electoral body is “still authenticating the results from the states”.
But Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chair, dismissed the report.
“It’s fake news. INEC is not reconsidering the 2019 presidential election,” he told Africa Check.
“The presidential election result has been published on our website. If anybody is talking about authentication of result, it must be when the collation was still ongoing. We have announced the presidential election results and we are sure of the results announced.” – Allwell Okpi (14/03/2019)
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Further Reading
ANALYSIS: Nigeria's 2023 election, from the ballot box to the courtroom
The dust has not settled on the country's general election, as tribunals set up to resolve disputes over the vote have begun their work.
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