Claim: INEC reposts Tinubu aide’s message on an issue regarding INEC chairman
Source: Social media
Verdict: False
Researched by FactSpace Newsroom
The controversy over a partisan X account purportedly belonging to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has reignited calls for his removal ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections.
On April 12, 2026, the People’s Gazette news portal published an article titled: “Nigerians react as INEC reposts Tinubu aide’s message.”
“The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) repost of a press statement by Dada Olusegun, a special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on social media, has sparked reactions. The statement denied allegations that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, supported Mr Tinubu during the 2023 general election,” the article read in part.
On the same day of the publication, INEC issued a rebuttal denying that they had reposted a message from the president’s aide. “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not copy its recent press statement from any third party,” the rebuttal read.
This report will verify whether the elections body reposted a message from the president’s aide.
Fact-check
FactSpace West Africa reviewed the two statements posted by the President’s aide, Dada Olusegun, and the one posted on INEC’s official on X page.
| Date and time of post | Link | Views |
| April 10, 2026, at 7:12 PM | PRESS STATEMENT | 1.1 million |
| April 11, 2026, at 5:16 PM | INEC PRESS STATEMENT | 1.3 million |
FactSpace West Africa arrived at the following conclusions:
- The two statements are the same in terms of content and structure.
- The presidential staff posted it a day (April 10) before the INEC post was made (April 11)
- Both statements were issued and e-signed by Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman.
- While the message was first posted by Tinubu’s aide, it was issued by the INEC official, and not a statement from him or the government.
Following public criticism that he had posted an INEC message even ahead of the institution itself, he responded: “Those wailing under this post are doing so because they hate that the lie they and their fanatical supporters concocted against the INEC chairman is being dispelled. INEC is an institution of the Federal Government. Amplifying their press statement, which is correcting misinformation, is not the same as defending anyone.”
Verdict
The claim that INEC reposted a message by Tinubu’s aide is False.
