Claim: A message has been circulating on social media, particularly Facebook, claiming that the chairperson of Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has announced a tenure extension for the chairpersons and councillors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The message reads:
“BREAKING NEWS
TENURE ELONGATION FOR FCT AREA COUNCIL CHAIRMEN AND COUNCILLORS TO BE AFFIRMS.
Tenure elongation for FCT Area councils Chairmen and councillors to be affirms. According to the Chairman of Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu said there is no provisions for FCT Area council elections 2025.
4-year tenure will mean that election will be held every 4 years instead of 3 years which mean less money will be spend on elections.. Congratulations to FCT Area council Current Chairmen and councillors…”
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Given the significance of this message, it was deemed necessary to verify its authenticity.
The Explainer fact checker took the initiative to investigate the claim by visiting the official website and social media handles of INEC. However, no such news was found on these platforms.
Also, an online keyword search was conducted to determine if any credible media platform had published such news. The search yielded no reports of such an announcement from reputable news outlets. It is reasonable to assume that such significant changes would have made headlines if they were true.
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Further findings by the Explainer shows that the claim has been debunked by several media platform.
Verdict: False
The Explainer therefore concludes that the claim stating that the chairperson of INEC has announced a tenure extension for the chairpersons and councillors in the FCT is false.
