The Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) has opened its situation rooms to monitor and fact-check misinformation and disinformation ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has billed Saturday November 16 for off-season gubernatorial election in the SouthWestern state.
The NFC said it had opened the situation rooms in Abuja and Lagos to coordinate with researchers, fact-checkers, editors and data analysts among others to curb fake news as the election unfolds.
In a press statement signed by Opeyemi Kehinde, Editor, FactCheckHub, the Coalition said leveraging on the successes recorded during Nigeria’s 2023 general elections including off-cycle elections in some state in 2024, it is committed supporting democratic process that allow the will of the people to prevail.
“We fully support any democratic process that respects the will of the people in the society. That is why we are working assiduously alongside our partners and relevant stakeholders to support information integrity in the Ondo 2024 gubernatorial election and to curb the menace of ‘fake News’ during the poll”, said Kehinde.
The statement quoted Kehinde assuring that they have deployed experts to quickly monitor trending information during the election and debunk misleading information.
“We’ve deployed our combined team of researchers, social media analysts and fact-checkers to monitor information trends on TVs, radio and online platforms, including social media platforms to quickly identify and debunk claims spreading online and offline”, added Kehinde.
Corroborating Kehinde, DUBAWA Editor Kemi Busari and David Ajikobi of Nigeria Editor of Africa Check, said they will continue to work towards checking misinformation and disinformation that threatened the existence of democracy, calling on the general public to report any suspicious posts, images or video to a dedicated WhatsApp number +2349030785265.
“We continue to see the influence of false information on elections, and we are not resting on our oars. We’ll go all out to combat misinformation and disinformation that threatens our democracy”, Kemi said.
In his contribution Ajikobi said “this is our contribution to making sure the electorate and people in the state are equipped with accurate information to help them make informed decisions.”
The coalition launched in June 2022, includes three International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) signatories – Africa Check, FactCheckHub and Dubawa.
Other partners are the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Digital Africa Research Lab, Daily Trust, TheCable, Premium Times, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), FactsMatterNG and Round Check.
Yawale Adamu is an investigative reporter driven by a passion for accountability and purposeful leadership.
He specializes in crafting compelling stories in both English and Hausa, with a focus on amplifying the voices of marginalized and underreported communities, offering hope and advocating for justice through his reportage.
Experience
With over a decade of experience, Yawale has produced numerous investigative stories that uncovered corruption, abuse of power, and mismanagement of public funds. From 2012 to 2022, he also served as a newscaster and translator at BRC FM Misau.
Awards
Yawale was honored as the Best Reporter of the Year at BRC FM Misau for the 2012–2013 period, reflecting his dedication and impact in the field of journalism.
