Nigeria: No Evidence Nigeria Presidential Candidate Bola Tinubu Asked Young Nigerians to Focus On Online Fraud

22 December 2022
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Abisola Olasupo

IN SHORT: Tinubu's campaign for Nigeria's presidency in the 2023 elections has pushed back hard at allegations of his past misdeeds. A quote claiming he asked the youth to focus on online fraud is unsupported.

A post on Facebook in Nigeria attributes a quote to the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, Bola Tinubu.

It reads: "You're too young to be having relationship issues. Free your mind & concentrate on Yahoo, Yahoo."

Yahoo-Yahoo is a slang term used for internet fraud in Nigeria.

Tinubu was also governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007.

There have been allegations that Tinubu was involved in money laundering and illegal drug deals in his younger days in the United States.

Campaign spokesperson Festus Keyamo has at various times addressed the claims.

But did Tinubu make this statement about Yahoo-Yahoo?

No evidence for quote

The post doesn't say where or when Tinubu is meant to have made this statement, which is a red flag that it might have been fabricated.

If he had made such a statement, it would have been widely reported by credible mainstream media in Nigeria.

With the elections only weeks away, there's been an increase in false quotes attributed to candidates on social media in Nigeria, especially to presidential candidates.

These false statements could affect the public's voting decisions. They should be ignored.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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