{"id":7650,"date":"2026-04-20T09:39:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1307007.us31.myftpupload.com\/?p=7650"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:39:52","slug":"fact-check-did-inec-repost-a-message-from-tinubus-aide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/fact-check-did-inec-repost-a-message-from-tinubus-aide\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT-CHECK: Did INEC repost a message from Tinubu\u2019s aide?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: <\/strong>INEC reposts Tinubu aide\u2019s message on an issue regarding INEC chairman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong> Social media<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verdict: <\/strong>False<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researched by FactSpace Newsroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The controversy over a partisan X<\/strong> account purportedly belonging to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan<\/a>, has reignited calls for his removal ahead of Nigeria\u2019s 2027 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 12, 2026, the People\u2019s Gazette news portal published an article titled: \u201cNigerians react as INEC reposts Tinubu aide\u2019s message.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Independent National Electoral Commission\u2019s (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,\u201d the article read in part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day of the publication, INEC issued a rebuttal<\/a> denying that they had reposted a message from the president\u2019s aide. \u201cThe Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not copy  its recent press statement from any third party,\u201d the rebuttal read.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Fig. 1 – Screenshot of INEC rebuttal on People’s Gazette publication<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This report will verify whether the elections body reposted a message from the president\u2019s aide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact-check <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FactSpace West Africa reviewed the two statements posted by the President\u2019s aide, Dada Olusegun, and the one posted on INEC\u2019s official on X<\/strong> page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date and time of post <\/strong><\/td>Link <\/strong><\/td>Views <\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
April 10, 2026, at 7:12 PM<\/td>PRESS STATEMENT<\/a><\/td>1.1 million <\/td><\/tr>
April 11, 2026, at 5:16 PM<\/td>INEC PRESS STATEMENT<\/a><\/td>1.3 million <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FactSpace West Africa arrived at the following conclusions:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. The two statements are the same in terms of content and structure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The presidential staff posted it a day (April 10) before the INEC post was made (April 11)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Both statements were issued and e-signed by Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary\/Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. While the message was first posted by Tinubu\u2019s aide, it was issued by the INEC official, and not a statement from him or the government.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Following public criticism that he had posted an INEC message even ahead of the institution itself, he responded: \u201cThose 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The claim that INEC reposted a message by Tinubu\u2019s aide is False.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Claim: INEC reposts Tinubu aide\u2019s message on an issue regarding INEC chairman Source: Social media Verdict: False Researched…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":7652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41,32],"tags":[87,364,363,365,115],"coauthors":[472],"class_list":["post-7650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-nigeria","tag-bola-ahmed-tinubu","tag-2027-elections","tag-inec","tag-joash-amupitan","tag-x"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":41,"label":"Featured"},{"value":32,"label":"Nigeria"}],"post_tag":[{"value":87,"label":"Bola Ahmed Tinubu"},{"value":364,"label":"2027 elections"},{"value":363,"label":"INEC"},{"value":365,"label":"Joash Amupitan"},{"value":115,"label":"X"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Amupitan-INVE-Tinubu.jpeg",1024,604,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Rabiu Alhassan","author_link":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/author\/rabiu-alhassan\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":41,"name":"Featured","slug":"featured","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":41,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Featured posts","parent":0,"count":144,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":41,"category_count":144,"category_description":"Featured posts","cat_name":"Featured","category_nicename":"featured","category_parent":0},{"term_id":32,"name":"Nigeria","slug":"nigeria","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":32,"taxonomy":"category","description":"

    \r\n
    \r\n\r\nGet the latest Nigeria fact-checks from FactSpace West Africa, an independent, non-partisan organisation working to tackle mis\/disinformation and propaganda across West Africa.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>","parent":0,"count":69,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":32,"category_count":69,"category_description":"
    \r\n
    \r\n\r\nGet the latest Nigeria fact-checks from FactSpace West Africa, an independent, non-partisan organisation working to tackle mis\/disinformation and propaganda across West Africa.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>","cat_name":"Nigeria","category_nicename":"nigeria","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":87,"name":"Bola Ahmed Tinubu","slug":"bola-ahmed-tinubu","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":87,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":364,"name":"2027 elections","slug":"2027-elections","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":364,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":363,"name":"INEC","slug":"inec","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":363,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":365,"name":"Joash Amupitan","slug":"joash-amupitan","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":365,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":115,"name":"X","slug":"x","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":115,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7650"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7653,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7650\/revisions\/7653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7650"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enspirefx.com\/royale\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}