With the curtains drawn on electioneering campaigns on Thursday, the battleground shifted to social media especially X, formerly Twitter with fake news and misinformation spreading like wildfire. The targets were the major candidates in the three-horse race for the coveted Edo governorship seat. These were clear signs of interfering with the process of a credible
With the curtains drawn on electioneering campaigns on Thursday, the battleground shifted to social media especially X, formerly Twitter with fake news and misinformation spreading like wildfire. The targets were the major candidates in the three-horse race for the coveted Edo governorship seat. These were clear signs of interfering with the process of a credible election.
Ostensibly to create confusion and doubts in the minds of supporters, some of the fake news content came with elements of forgery and criminality with signatures of party executives and candidates being superimposed on fabricated statements. Even the Supreme Court was not spared as it was alleged to have surreptitiously given a late-night judgement disqualifying one of the candidates.
PDP’s Fake Letter of Candidate’s Withdrawal
It was like a ping-pong game where supporters of the candidates attempted to outwit and outdo one another to gain a likely last-minute advantage by creating doubts. This is a new low and a potential threat to Nigeria’s fledging democracy. Like the proverbial bad news that spreads widely, the fake news hit the airwaves and spread widely with the candidates scampering to issue rebuttals. How effective this last-minute propaganda would impact the election is yet to be seen.
First was the news that the Supreme Court had allegedly disqualified the PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Asue Ighodalo which surfaced on some X handles with comments requesting supporters of the PDP candidate not to waste their vote but instead cast their vote for Mr. Olumide Akpata, the candidate of the Labour Party. The purveyors of the fake news were unmindful that the Supreme Court often gives notices of its judgement and would not do so in the dark.
Tracking the purveyors of such fake news lies in examining the likely beneficiaries of such misinformation. The Edo State situation was more of a war and a test of propaganda against propaganda.
Then, something that looked like a rejoinder from the PDP camp surfaced on the same X platform with a purported letter of withdrawal from the race by Mr. Olumide Akpata. This was vehemently refuted by the candidate stating categorically: “I am still in the race” with a caveat of “No Retreat, No Surrender”. He said he remained in the race because that is what the Edo people wanted adding that his alleged withdrawal was the figment of the imagination of “an idiot, if I may say so myself”
Akpata’s Purported Letter of Withdrawal
Throwing more light on the purported letter of Olumide Akpata’s withdrawal. Dr. Yunusa Tanko, the spokesperson of the Obedient Movement wrote: “They are used to stealing the people’s vote. The letter was unintelligently written on the 20th of September and signed on the 29th of July. Every day for the thief, one day for the owner.”
Soon after, news surfaced that “Abuja Court Disqualifies Okpebholo Over Age Falsification’. The story went thus: A magistrate Court sitting in Abuja has disqualified the candidate of the APC for the September 21 Edo State Governorship Election, Senator Monday Okpebholo for age falsification and forgery”
Senator Okpebholo’s Disqualification Court order
Attached to the story is a court enrolment order showing one Honesty Aginbatse as the plaintiff and Monday Okpebholo, All Progressives Congress, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The case was allegedly filed in the court of His worship Abubakar Muktar in suit no: CR/w22/816/2024. In the purported ruling, the Court “stopped the first defendant from taking part in the said governorship election”. The red flag is that the magistrate court may not be the appropriate place to determine such a matter.
There was another letter purportedly written by the PDP leadership accepting the withdrawal of Asue Ighodalo’s letter of withdrawal from the race. In the letter titled “Re; Withdrawal of Support and Endorsement,” the PDP allegedly wrote, “We acknowledge receipt of your letter, dated 20th September 2024 informing us of your decision to withdraw from the upcoming Edo State Governorship election slated for September 21, 2024”. The signatures of the Acting National Chairman Amb Umar Damagun and Sen Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
When the polls opened on Saturday, there was no indication that the fake news and misinformation had affected the turnout of voters or caused a shift in loyalty. The polls opened peacefully with showers from heaven dotting some parts of Edo State.
